Hong Kong health officials ban poultry imports from three more areas after bird flu outbreaks
The regions are Yining city in Xinjiang, Kumamoto prefecture in Japan as well as Miechowski and Proszowicki counties in Poland
Hong Kong food safety officials have placed a temporary suspension on the import of poultry meat and products from three more regions – in mainland China, Japan and Poland following the detection of bird flu strains in these areas.
The import ban by the Centre for Food Safety came after a confirmed case of H5N6 virus infection in Yining city in the western region of Xinjiang; the detection of a bird flu strain in Kumamoto prefecture, Japan, near the city of Fukuoka; and a case of the H5N8 strain in the Miechowski and Proszowicki counties of Poland.
The centre said the move was based on advice by the World Organisation for Animal Health, adding that authorities in the affected regions had been contacted and the situation would be closely monitored.
“Appropriate action will be taken in response to the development of the situation,” a centre spokesman said.
Food safety chiefs said the Xinjiang outbreak did not affect any registered mainland poultry farms or registered poultry meat processing plants exporting to Hong Kong.
According to official data, in the first 10 months of this year, Hong Kong imported about 6,000 tonnes of frozen poultry meat and 40.6 million poultry eggs from Japan, as well as about 16,400 tonnes of frozen poultry meat and 4.8 million poultry eggs from Poland.