HONG KONG, July 11 (Xinhua) -- The food safety authority of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) announced Thursday that it will suspend the import of poultry product from a state of Mexico due to bird flu outbreaks there.
The Center for Food Safety (CFS) of the HKSAR government's Food and Environmental Hygiene Department said that in view of a notification from the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) about outbreaks of highly pathogenic H7N3 avian influenza in the State of Guanajuato in Mexico, the CFS has instructed trade to suspend the import of poultry meat and products, including poultry eggs, from the area with immediate effect to protect public health in Hong Kong.
A CFS spokesman said that Hong Kong has currently established a protocol with Mexico for import of poultry meat but not for poultry eggs.
In the first three months of this year, no poultry meat from Mexico was imported into Hong Kong, according to the Census and Statistics Department.
"The CFS has contacted the Mexican authorities over the issue and will closely monitor information issued by the OIE on avian influenza outbreaks. Appropriate actions will be taken in response to the development of the situation," the spokesman said.
