The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (November 5) that in view of notifications from the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) about outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in Clackamas County of the State of Oregon, Kings County of the State of California and Cache County of the State of Utah in the United States (US) and Rural Municipality of Willner No. 253 of Saskatchewan Province in Canada, 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 according to the Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong imported about about 63,470 tonnes of chilled and frozen poultry meat and about 17.2 million poultry eggs from the US, and about 370 tonnes of frozen poultry meat from Canada in the first nine months of this year.

"The CFS has contacted the American and Canadian 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.