The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced on January 24 that in view of a notification from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs of Korea about outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in Jincheon-gun of Chungcheongbuk-do Province and Hwaseong-city of Gyeonggi-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 10 tonnes of frozen poultry meat and about 280,000 poultry eggs from Korea in the first nine months of last year.

"The CFS has contacted the Korean authority over the issues and will closely monitor information issued by the World Organisation for Animal Health 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.