Mainland chilled and frozen poultry imports have resumed and the Food & Environmental Hygiene Department will accept applications for importation from March 11.

The first consignment of Mainland poultry meat is expected to arrive in the week starting March 22.

Permanent Secretary for Health, Welfare & Food Carrie Yau told legislators today the Government had been monitoring the Mainland's avian influenza situation closely before deciding to resume imports.

Public health top priority

The Health, Welfare & Food Bureau reiterated the Government's first priority is to protect public health and ensure food safety. Therefore, when it considers whether poultry import restrictions should be lifted, it has to assess the risk posed against these two objectives.

As the avian influenza outbreak situation in the region has started to ease, it has decided to lift the restrictions, having regard to the recommendations of the World Health Organisation and the World Organisation for Animal Health that these products pose relatively less risk to human health.

Factors taken into consideration include the outbreak situation of the affected country or area and whether sufficient control measures have been imposed to prevent reoccurrence or the spread of avian flu in poultry.

Measures ensure hygiene of poultry products

The Food & Environmental Hygiene Department has implemented a programme to control the importation of chilled or frozen poultry meat from the Mainland. It covers farms, slaughtering plants, the slaughtering procedures, transportation and health certification.

The Government has reached agreement with Mainland authorities to adopt the following additional measures to ensure the hygiene standards and enhance consumer confidence:

* The Inspection & Quarantine Bureau at the place of origin will seal the consignments and include information on the seal in the relevant health certificate;

* Offal must be removed from all imported chilled and frozen poultry and will not be allowed to be imported during the initial period of resumption of importation; and,

* The Food & Environmental Hygiene Department will hold the first three consignments of poultry products from each Guangdong processing plant and test it for the presence of the H5 virus.