Hong Kong resumes imports of Japanese poultry - April 20, 2007

　　The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's Centre for Food Safety announced on April 18 that it would immediately resume processing import applications for poultry meat and poultry meat products from Japan (excluding Miyazaki and Okayama prefectures).

　　It is understood that cases of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza were found in poultry farms in Miyazaki and Okayama prefectures in January and February this year respectively. The Centre for Food Safety of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region subsequently suspended the processing of import applications for poultry meat and poultry meat products from Japan.

　　A spokesperson for the Centre for Food Safety stated that the resumption of processing import applications for Japanese poultry meat and poultry meat products is mainly due to Japan's implementation of appropriate monitoring measures, and no further avian influenza cases have occurred. The Centre for Food Safety will continue to monitor the situation in Miyazaki and Okayama prefectures and will not lift the import restrictions on poultry meat from these two prefectures for the time being.