The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (September 19) that in view of notifications from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) about outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in Strathcona County of Alberta Province in Canada, Brown County of the State of Minnesota in the United States (US), and Meuse Department in France, 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 60 tonnes of frozen poultry meat from Canada, about 7 360 tonnes of chilled and frozen poultry meat and about 201.48 million poultry eggs from the US, and about 540 tonnes of chilled and frozen poultry meat and about 25 000 poultry eggs from France, in the first six months of this year.

"The CFS has contacted the Canadian, American and French authorities over the issues and will closely monitor information issued by the OIE 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.