HONG KONG, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong's food safety authority announced Thursday the suspension of the import of poultry meat from Loir-Et-Cher Department of France due to a bird flu outbreak.
The Center for Food Safety (CFS) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government's Food and Environmental Hygiene Department said that in view of a notification from the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) about an outbreak of low pathogenic H5 avian influenza in Loir-Et-Cher Department in France, the CFS has instructed the trade to suspend the import of poultry meat and products, including poultry eggs, from the department with immediate effect to protect public health in Hong Kong.
A CFS spokesman said that Hong Kong imported about 7,300 tons of chilled and frozen poultry meat and 2.3 million poultry eggs from France in the first six months of this year, according to the HKSAR government's Census and Statistics Department.
"The CFS has contacted the French authorities over the issue and will closely monitor information issued by the OIE on avian influenza outbreaks. Appropriate action will be taken in response to the development of the situation," the spokesman said.
