An outbreak of avian influenza among commercial poultry flocks in Minnesota and other states has spurred the government of Canada to ban travelers from bringing uncooked chicken, turkey and even raw eggs into Canada.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency this month moved to "to protect Canada's poultry resources from an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza reported in poultry in the states of Minnesota, California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington."
Any raw poultry and all poultry products that originate from those five states, including raw eggs and even pet food with poultry, are now illegal to bring into Canada.
Live pet birds may be brought into Canada with official certification from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The Canadian agency said there is no food safety risk associated with the poultry products. "These measures are being taken to prevent the introduction of avian influenza into other parts of Canada," the agency said in a notice.
ADVERTISEMENT
The regulations went into effect March 6 and will remain in effect until further notice. In recent years governments on both sides of the border have instituted various food import bans, including raw meat, apples and other fruits and vegetables.
Anglers and other travelers heading into Canada can purchase the banned products on the north side of the border.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service recently confirmed the presence of highly pathogenic H5N2 avian influenza in a commercial turkey flock in Pope County, Minn. This is the first finding in the Mississippi flyway. It is the same strain of avian influenza that has been confirmed in backyard and wild birds in Washington, Oregon and Idaho as part of an ongoing outbreak in the Pacific flyway.
