Hong Kong suspends import of poultry products from areas in Germany, Poland, Japan

HONG KONG Hong Kong’s food safety authority decided on Monday to suspend the import of poultry meat and products from different areas in Germany, Poland and Japan due to the bird flu outbreaks. The Center for Food Safety (CFS) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government’s Food and Environmental Hygiene Department said this was in view of notifications from the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) about an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N8 avian influenza in SpreeNeiße District, the State of Brandenburg in Germany,

and a notification from the General Veterinary Inspectorate of Poland about outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Łęczyński District, Lubelskie Region in Poland. Another notification was from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan about an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5 avian influenza in Gifu Prefecture in Japan. The CFS has instructed the trade to suspend the import of poultry meat and products, including poultry eggs, from these areas with immediate effect to protect public health in Hong Kong. (Xinhua)