The EU has announced that it will extend even further its ban on poultry products imported from any of several Asian countries including Hong Kong and mainland China. Hong Kong traders will recall that the ban on imports from the Asian countries was already extended once, only a few weeks ago, i.e., by means of a 29 July 2004 Official Journal publication until mid-December 2004. The same ban will now expire only at the end of March 2005.
On the other hand, poultry products of North American (US and Canadian) origin may enter and be placed on Member States' markets.
According to the Commission, outbreaks of avian flu are still occurring in Asian regions and "the overall disease situation in the area remains unclear". A ban on ostrich imports from South Africa has also been set into place, until January 2005.
To recap, as regards the Chinese mainland, importation into the EU of the following is entirely banned:
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fresh poultry meat,
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meat preparations and meat products consisting of, or containing poultry meat,
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raw pet food and unprocessed feed material containing any parts of poultry, and
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eggs for human consumption and non-treated game trophies from any birds.
As regards both the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong, as well as the other targeted Asian countries, importation into the EU of the following bird products and birds is entirely banned:
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unprocessed feathers and parts of feathers, and
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live birds other than poultry, including birds accompanying their owners (i.e., pet birds); "birds" in this context means animals of the avian species.
As regards the importation of processed feathers or parts of feathers, consignments must be accompanied by a commercial document, which states that the processed feathers or parts thereof have been treated with a steam current or by some other method ensuring that no pathogens are transmitted.
