The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced on January 26 that in view of notifications from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) about outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in Augsburg District and Rhön-Grabfeld District in the State of Bayern and Havelland District in the State of Brandenburg in Germany, 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 430 tonnes of frozen poultry meat and about 800,000 poultry eggs from Germany in the first nine months of last year.

"The CFS has contacted the German 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.