The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced on January 10 that in view of notifications from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs of Korea about outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in Wieruszowski District of Łódzkie Region in Poland, Vendée Department in France, Eden District of Cumbria County in the United Kingdom (UK) and Jeongeup-si of Jeollabuk-do Province in Korea, 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 4,070 tonnes of frozen poultry meat and about 24.82 million poultry eggs from Poland; about 40 tonnes of chilled poultry meat, about 3 920 tonnes of frozen poultry meat and about 240,000 poultry eggs from France; about 10 tonnes of frozen poultry meat and about 280,000 poultry eggs from Korea; and about 70 tonnes of chilled poultry meat, about 2,970 tonnes of frozen poultry meat and about 250,000 poultry eggs from the UK in the first nine months of last year.

"The CFS has contacted the Polish, French, British and Korean 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.