The UAE has started to ban all non-heat-treated poultry products from some parts of the United States and Malaysia due to concerns about the spread of bird flu.
The move came after the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment decided to take action following an alert from the World Organization for Animal Health regarding the registration of highly pathogenic avian influenza in commercial farms in Tennessee, USA and Kelantan, Malaysia.
“It works to implement the Federal Law No 10 of 2015 on the safety of food, which applies to all establishments licensed to trade food or feed, and consignments coming to the country or passing through its territory,” The National quoted Majid Sultan Al Qasimi, the ministry’s director of Animal Health and Development Department as saying.
The import ban affects all types of live domestic, wild and ornamental birds, as well as chicks, eggs and bird remains from Lincoln, Tennessee and the province of Kelantan in Malaysia. It also applies to all stages of the food chain, from primary production through processing until it reaches the consumer.
The authorities are screening product identification cards to check that it complies with UAE standards and examines samples of the food through laboratory tests to ensure they are safe to eat.
