The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced on January 18 that in view of a notification from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) about outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in Hautes-Pyrénées Department and Lot-et-Garonne 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 40 tonnes of chilled poultry meat, about 3,920 tonnes of frozen poultry meat and about 240,000 poultry eggs from France in the first nine months of last year.

"The CFS has contacted the French authority 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.