HONG KONG – Hong Kong's food safety authority decided on Tuesday to suspend the import of poultry meat and products from the Municipality of Pembina of the province of Manitoba in Canada, and Stearns county and Benton county of the state of Minnesota, and Jay county of the state of Indiana in the United States due to avian influenza outbreaks in these regions.

The Center for Food Safety (CFS) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government's Food and Environmental Hygiene Department has instructed the trade to suspend the import of poultry meat and products, including poultry eggs, from these areas with immediate effect to protect public health in Hong Kong.

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A CFS spokesperson said it was in view of notifications from the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) about outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in these areas.

The CFS has contacted the Canadian and American authorities over the issues and will closely monitor information issued by the WOAH and the relevant authorities on the avian influenza outbreak, the spokesperson said.