The European Commission has adopted an EU ban on all imports of Turkish live birds and untreated feathers, following the confirmed presence of the avian influenza virus in Turkey over the weekend, and described the situation as ‘very worrying’.
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Imports of live poultry, eggs and fresh poultry meat from Turkey are already not allowed in the EU, and therefore no ban is necessary for these products. The import ban is effective immediately, and the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health will review the decision on 12 October.
“The detection of avian influenza in Turkey is very worrying, given its proximity to EU borders. We do not know yet whether this is the same virulent virus that has caused such widespread destruction in Asia, and we can only hope that it isn’t,” said Markos Kyprianou, Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection.
“However, any hesitation in reacting to this development might pose a serious risk to animal and perhaps even to human health, which is why we are imposing an immediate import ban. The Commission has responded swiftly to the threat of avian influenza since it first emerged in Asia, and we will continue to take every possible measure to seek to prevent this virus from entering the EU. We have offered assistance to Turkey and the measures we have taken against imports will be reviewed in the coming days, when we have the final test results,” he added.
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