Eggs added to Hong Kong import control
Hong Kong’s Food and Health Bureau is considering extending the import control regime for meat and poultry to cover eggs, as a preventative measure against avian influenza.
Lawmakers have been consulted regarding the proposed Imported Game, Meat, Poultry and Poultry Eggs Regulation to be made under the city’s Food Safety Ordinance, an official source states.
Acting Secretary for Food and Health, Gabriel Leung, said there is a need to strengthen import control of eggs because more than 99% of them in Hong Kong are imported and the World Health Organization warns that eggs from infected poultry could be contaminated with the avian influenza virus.
Under the proposed regulation, ‘imported poultry eggs’ means imported shelled or unshelled poultry eggs commonly used for human consumption, including raw, preserved and partly-cooked eggs, and their yolks.
For every consignment of imported eggs, importers must provide an official health certificate for their export issued by a competent authority recognised by Hong Kong’s Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene, otherwise prior written permission from the director will be required.
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