The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (December 6) that in view of notifications from the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) about outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in Maphumulo Local Municipality of KwaZulu-Natal Province in South Africa and Webster County of the State of Missouri in the United States (US), and a notification from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan about an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5 avian influenza in Aichi Prefecture in Japan, 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 Hong Kong has currently established a protocol with South Africa for import of poultry meat but not for poultry eggs. According to the Census and Statistics Department, no poultry meat was imported into Hong Kong from South Africa in the first nine months of this year. Moreover, Hong Kong imported about 10 650 tonnes of chilled and frozen poultry meat and about 227.48 million poultry eggs from the US and about 1 260 tonnes of chilled and frozen poultry meat and about 292.13 million poultry eggs from Japan in the first nine months of this year. 

     "The CFS has contacted the South African, American and Japanese 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/Tuesday, December 6, 2022
Issued at HKT 16:55

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