The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (December 21) that in view of notifications from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) about outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N8 avian influenza in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany and the Province of Overijssel in the Netherlands, it has banned the import of poultry meat and products (including poultry eggs) from the two areas with immediate effect to protect public health in Hong Kong.

     A CFS spokesman said that in the first 10 months of this year, Hong Kong imported about 8 400 tonnes of frozen poultry meat and 2 million poultry eggs from Germany and about 7 800 tonnes of frozen poultry meat and 7.3 million poultry eggs from the Netherlands.

     "The CFS has contacted the German and Dutch authorities over the issues and will closely monitor information issued by the OIE on avian influenza outbreaks in the two countries concerned. Appropriate action will be taken in response to the development of the situation," the spokesman said.

Ends/Wednesday, December 21, 2016
Issued at HKT 14:45

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