HK bans northeast German poultry

Related tags Avian influenza

Hong Kong has banned the import of all poultry products, including eggs, from certain German states with immediate effect.

According to the SAR’s Centre for Food Safety (CFS), all poultry from the states of Brandenburg and Berlin come under the ban. The move comes following a notification from the World Organisation for Animal Health about an outbreak of low-pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in the northeastern part of Germany.

The CFS stopped the import of all poultry and poultry products, including poultry eggs, from Schleswig-Holstein, another German state, in December due to an outbreak of avian influenza H5.

Hong Kong received around 10,000 tonnes of frozen and chilled poultry meat, as well as some 2.8 million poultry eggs, from Germany last year.

"We have contacted the German authorities over the issue and will closely monitor information issued by the OIE on the avian influenza outbreaks in Germany. Appropriate action will be taken in response to the development of the situation," the spokesman told the Xinhua news agency.