World meat industry news

The Veterinary and Food Control Department of Belarus' Agriculture and Food Ministry has placed extra restrictions on imports of poultry and related products following avian influenza outbreaks.

In this regard Belarus has introduced restrictions on the import of live birds, hatching eggs, poultry meat, egg powder and other food products from processed eggs, learned Belarusian news organisation BelTA.

The ban is in effect against poultry products from the Atyrau Region of Kazakhstan and the US states of California and Indiana, after highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreaks occurred there.

The ban also covers down and feather, feed and feed additives from birds, feed of vegetable origin, hunting trophies (bird game), and second-hand equipment for keeping and slaughtering birds from the abovementioned territories.

All the previously issued permits to import the above-mentioned products from Atyrau Region of Kazakhstan and the US states of California and Indiana are cancelled.

The Veterinary and Food Control Department said that the disease's economic damage is huge due to mass mortality of diseased birds, hence the need to take quarantine and veterinary control measures, including the slaughter of diseased birds.