Saudi Arabia’s Food and Drug Authority has prohibited the importation of poultry and table eggs from 40 countries — including Nigeria — while placing partial restrictions on selected regions in 16 other nations, as part of measures to protect public health and maintain food safety standards in its domestic market. According to a report by Gulf News on Tuesday, the authority stated that the list of affected countries is reviewed regularly in response to global health developments and updates on disease outbreaks.
Officials explained that some of the bans date back to 2004, while others were introduced progressively following risk assessments and international reports of animal diseases, particularly outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza. Countries currently under a full ban include Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Germany, Indonesia, Iran, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Bangladesh, Taiwan, Djibouti, South Africa, China, Iraq, Ghana, Palestine, Vietnam, Cambodia, Kazakhstan, Cameroon, South Korea, North Korea, Laos, Libya, Myanmar, the United Kingdom, Egypt, Mexico, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, India, Hong Kong, Japan, Burkina Faso, Sudan, Serbia, Slovenia, Côte d’Ivoire, and Montenegro.
Meanwhile, partial restrictions apply to specific states or cities in Australia, the United States, Italy, Belgium, Bhutan, Poland, Togo, Denmark, Romania, Zimbabwe, France, the Philippines, Canada, Malaysia, Austria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The authority clarified that the temporary prohibition does not cover heat-treated poultry meat and related products, provided they meet the approved health and safety requirements.
Source: https://punchng.com/
