Saudi Arabia’s Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) has banned poultry and egg imports from India and 39 other countries, with partial restrictions on 16 nations, citing avian influenza and food safety concerns.
Saudi Arabia’s Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) has banned poultry and egg imports from India and 39 other countries, with partial restrictions on 16 nations, citing avian influenza and food safety concerns. The move was part of precautionary measures aimed at protecting public health and ensuring food safety in the Kingdom.
The SFDA said the decision was aimed at reducing risks linked to animal diseases and ensuring the safety of food products entering the Kingdom. It added that the list of affected countries would be updated periodically in response to global health developments and epidemiological changes.
According to a recent review cited by Okaz, a leading Arabic-language daily newspaper in Saudi Arabia, some countries have been under import restrictions since 2004, while others were included over the years following risky and international reports, particularly those linked to outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza. The SFDA noted that this reflects its continuous monitoring of the global disease situation.
The full ban applies to imports from 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.
Partial restrictions have also been imposed on certain provinces 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 ban does not apply to heat-treated poultry meat and related products, provided they comply with approved health and safety standards.
Such products must be accompanied by official certification confirming that they have been processed in a way that eliminates avian influenza and Newcastle disease viruses, and must originate from approved facilities in the exporting country.
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