HONG KONG (XINHUA) - Hong Kong's food safety authority decided on Friday (Feb 19) to suspend the import of poultry meat and products from bird flu-affected areas in South Korea, Germany and Poland.

The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Hong Kong government's Food and Environmental Hygiene Department said that this was in view of notifications from the World Organisation for Animal Health about outbreaks of the highly pathogenic H5N8 avian influenza in Gyeongsangbuk-Do, South Korea, and in Brandenburg, Germany.

Another notification was from the General Veterinary Inspectorate of Poland about an outbreak of the highly pathogenic avian influenza in Lubuskie, Poland.

The CFS 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.