SA ban poultry imports because of bird flu
Local poultry, however, remains of a high quality and is safe to eat
OUTBREAKS of highly infectious bird flu in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and now Canada, with more expected in other EU countries, has led to hundreds of thousands of birds being culled and widespread import bans.
South African poultry, however, remains of a high quality and is safe to eat.
Dr Charlotte Nkuna, director of the Poultry Disease Management Agency at the South African Poultry Association (SAPA), said as the Avian Influenza (AI) virus survives for a long time in frozen material, the flood of imported frozen poultry products potentially increased the risk to the national flock.
“Recognising the devastating impact of a potential AI outbreak on the local poultry industry, the country’s largest agricultural sector responsible for over 130 000 direct jobs, the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF), through the office of the Director Animal Health, has placed an immediate ban on all imports of poultry and poultry products into South Africa from the affected countries,” said Nkuna.
“Importers, as well as the poultry industry, must immediately stop importing live poultry, poultry meat and processed poultry products from affected countries, as well as those that transit through those areas to South Africa.”
Sol Motsepe, senior executive of Broilers at SAPA, said even though the import bans were likely to stay in place for some time to come, local producers were more than able to meet local demand with a high quality local product that remains safe to eat.
The DAFF will ban imports until affected countries declare their freedom from AI with the OIE, which can only be done a minimum of three months after the last positive case has been reported. Affected countries then resubmit recertification applications for exports to South Africa, a lengthy but critical process to ensure South African poultry and our consumers are protected, he said.
“We have always been concerned over the high levels of imported poultry and the manner in which these frozen products are handled locally. Considering that the bird flu virus survives in a frozen state, the possibility of the disease spreading in this way is of national importance.”
Emphasising the importance of the safety of local poultry for South African consumers, Nkuna said SA ran a surveillance programme where producers tested their flocks twice a year to detect any emerging influenza strains within the poultry populations.
“This proves that our flock is currently free from the disease, which enables producers to trade.
