The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (October 5) that in view of notifications from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) about outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in Lisboa District in Portugal, Smoky Lake County of Alberta Province and Rural Municipality of Laird No. 404 of Saskatchewan Province in Canada, and Roseau County of the State of Minnesota in the United States (US), 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, no poultry meat or eggs were imported into Hong Kong from Portugal in the first six months of this year. Moreover, Hong Kong imported about 60 tonnes of frozen poultry meat from Canada and about 7 360 tonnes of chilled and frozen poultry meat, and about 201.48 million poultry eggs from the US in the first six months of this year.

"The CFS has contacted the Portuguese, Canadian and American 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.