Import of poultry meat and items from locations in Poland, Netherlands, Italy, UK and United States suspended
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The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department revealed today (November 11) that in view of notices from the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) about break outs of extremely pathogenic H5N1 bird influenza in locations in Poland, the Netherlands, Italy, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (United States), the CFS has actually advised the trade to suspend the import of poultry meat and items (consisting of poultry eggs) from the pertinent locations with instant result to safeguard public health in Hong Kong.
The appropriate locations are as follows:
Poland
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Warmisko-Mazurskie Region
(1) Bartoszyce District
Netherlands
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(2) Province of Friesland
Italy
—
Piemonte Region
(3) Province of Novara
UK
—
(4) Norfolk County
United States
—
State of Georgia
(5) Gordon County
State of Idaho
(6) Payette County
State of Minnesota
(7) Swift County
A CFS spokesperson stated that according to the Census and Statistics Department, in the very first 9 months of this year, Hong Kong imported about 1 870 tonnes of frozen poultry meat from Poland; about 150 tonnes of frozen poultry meat from the Netherlands; about 90 tonnes of frozen poultry meat and about 9 000 poultry eggs from Italy; about 770 tonnes of cooled and frozen poultry meat and about 1.17 million poultry eggs from the UK; and about 40 060 tonnes of cooled and frozen poultry meat and about 2.62 million poultry eggs from the United States.
“The CFS has contacted the Polish, Dutch, Italian, British and American 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 spokesperson stated.