Singapore Suspends Poultry And Egg Imports From Selangor

SINGAPORE, Feb 20 (Bernama) -- Singapore's food security authority, the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA), has suspended poultry and egg imports from Selangor with immediate effect after receiving what it said is "information on the detection of H5N1 in kampung chickens" at a village in the state.
AVA said in a statement late Monday that the suspension of imports was a precautionary measure, in line with the established protocol between the veterinary authorities of the two countries for poultry imports from disease-free zones in Malaysia.
"The current suspension will not affect poultry imports from the disease-free zones of Johor, Malacca, Perak and Negri Sembilan," the agency said.
AVA said it would continue to work closely with the Malaysian Veterinary Services Department to monitor the development of the disease situation to ensure that poultry imported do not compromise public and animal health.
The import suspension would not have any impact on Singapore's poultry supply, AVA said.
"Although five chicken broiler farms in Selangor had been accredited to supply poultry to Singapore, there had been no exports from these farms to Singapore since Aug 2004," it said.
There was currently only one approved layer farm in Selangor supplying eggs to Singapore.
"As imports from this farm constitute only five per cent of total egg imports from Malaysia, the impact of the suspension on our egg supply is negligible," it said, adding that poultry and poultry products in Singapore are safe for consumption.
"AVA reassures the public that we will maintain vigilance to ensure that Singapore remains free from bird flu. We will also step up surveillance and inspections at the points of entry to prevent the incursion of the disease," the agency said.