Press Releases

Market cleansing days defer one day

The inter-departmental working group on avian flu led by the Health, Welfare and Food Bureau (HWFB) today (December 29) decided to defer the cleansing days for live chicken wholesale and retail markets by one day after hearing views from the trade on the cleansing arrangement.

This would enable wholesalers and retailers to have more time to sell their stocks.

The new cleansing days will be:
* December 30-31, 2002 for wholesale market;
* January 1, 2003 for retail markets.

Wholesalers can continue to sell their chickens today at the Cheung Sha Wan Temporary Wholesale Poultry Market where a veterinarian from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) will be present to check the health of the chickens that will be sent to retailers.

If the veterinarian found abnormality among the birds, he would stop the transportation of any chickens from leaving the wholesale market. The wholesale market will be thoroughly cleansed. Normal operation will resume on January 1, 2003 (Wednesday).

For retailers, they can sell their stocks until the closing of the retail markets on December 31, 2002 (Tuesday). Staff of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) will proceed with their cleansing operation on January 1, 2003. FEHD will closely monitor the condition of the chickens in the retail markets, if there are no irregularities, it will not be necessary for retailers to kill all chickens left behind unsold.

On the arrangement, a spokesman for HWFB said: "This arrangement can help to protect public health while at the same time minimising the effect on the supply of live chickens."

Meanwhile, AFCD staff had earlier today check the condition of the chickens in the farms in the Ta Kwu Ling area and found no irregularities.

Sunday, December 29, 2002