OTTAWA, ONTARIO – The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) recently confirmed that several countries put trade restrictions on some poultry products from Nova Scotia.

This follows a Feb. 4 announcement by the agency notifying the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) about the discovery of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 in a commercial poultry flock in the province. 

The CFIA stated the restrictions include several products from Canada, including live poultry, edible eggs and poultry meat. 

Canada received trade restriction notices from the European Union, United States, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Africa, South Korea, Philippines, Russian Federation, Mexico and Japan.

The United States limited its restrictions to live birds, raw pet food and edible poultry products like eggs that originated from the control zone in Nova Scotia, except the products for human consumption which were cooked to reach a minimum internal temperature of 740°C (165°F) until further notice.

The European Union will follow restrictions similar to the United States but will not restrict thermally processed pet food originating from Nova Scotia. 

Canada also reported a case of H5N1 being detected at a farm in Newfoundland, Canada, in December 2021.