The Food Safety Center (Center) of the Hong Kong Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced on February 16 that in response to notifications from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Finland, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock and Food of South Korea and the World Organisation for Animal Health, it refers to an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N8 avian influenza in Janakkala City, Tavastia Proper District, Finland, Jeju City, South Korea and Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen, Bavaria, Germany, and a notification from the Polish Veterinary Inspection Service, referring to Lubusz Province, Poland with the outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in the Żarski district, the center immediately instructed the industry to suspend the import of poultry meat and poultry products (including poultry eggs) from the above areas to protect the public health of Hong Kong.

A spokesperson for the center said that according to the Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong imported about 440 tonnes of frozen poultry from Finland last year; imported about 1,190 tonnes of chilled and frozen poultry and about 1,115 poultry eggs from South Korea; about 3,900 metric tons of frozen poultry meat and about 1.41 million poultry eggs imported from Germany; and about 13,500 metric tons of frozen poultry meat and about 39.08 million poultry eggs.

Spokesperson said: "The center has contacted the authorities in Finland, South Korea, Germany, and Poland regarding the incident, and will continue to closely monitor the news of the outbreak of avian influenza from the World Animal Health Organization and relevant authorities, and take appropriate actions in response to the development of the local epidemic."

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