AMSTERDAM: The UAE has banned the import of chicken and eggs from the Netherlands following an alert from the World Organisation for Animal Health on a highly contagious H5N8 bird flu strain.
The ban extends to domestic, wild live birds, ornamental birds, chicks, hatching eggs and non-heat treated by-products from the Netherlands. More than 150,000 chickens were culled in the Flevoland province recently to prevent the spread of the outbreak of the highly pathogenic strain.
Thermally heated poultry products from the Netherlands have been cleared for import, according to a statement from the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment on Thursday.
Samples of all food products are being tested in laboratories with sensors used to check the quality, said Majid Sultan Al Qassimi, assistant undersecretary of the ministry’s food diversity sector.
