The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (May 4) that in view of notifications from the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) about outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in the Rural Municipality of Buffalo No. 409 in Saskatchewan Province in Canada, and Tarn-et-Garonne Department and Dordogne Department in France, the CFS has instructed the trade to suspend the import of poultry meat and products (including poultry eggs) from the above-mentioned areas with immediate effect to protect public health in Hong Kong.

     A CFS spokesman said that according to the Census and Statistics Department, in the first three months of this year, while no poultry meat or eggs were imported into Hong Kong from Canada, Hong Kong imported about 410 tonnes of chilled and frozen poultry meat and about 400 000 poultry eggs from France.

     "The CFS has contacted the Canadian and French authorities over the issues and will closely monitor information issued by the WOAH and the relevant authorities on the avian influenza outbreaks. Appropriate action will be taken in response to the development of the situation," the spokesman said.

Ends/Monday, May 4, 2026
Issued at HKT 18:32

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