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The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (January 18) that in view of a notification from the United States (US) authorities about an outbreak of highly pathogenic H7N8 avian influenza in Dubois County in the US state of Indiana, and a notification from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) about an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N6 avian influenza in Lang Son Province in Vietnam, it has banned the import of poultry meat and products (including poultry eggs) from the two areas concerned with immediate effect to protect public health in Hong Kong.
About 257 000 tonnes of chilled and frozen poultry meat and 330 million poultry eggs were imported into Hong Kong from the US from January to November last year. The CFS has at present established a protocol with Vietnam for imports of salted duck eggs but not for poultry meat. Due to the development of outbreaks in Vietnam, imports of salted duck eggs from designated egg processing plants in all infected regions have also been suspended.
"The CFS has contacted the US and Vietnamese authorities over the issues and will closely monitor information issued by the OIE on avian influenza outbreaks in the two countries. Appropriate action will be taken in response to the development of the situation," the spokesman said.
Ends/Monday, January 18, 2016
Issued at HKT 18:46
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