Strict Controls On Poultry Imports
By Azaraimy HH

Bandar Seri Begawan - While neighbouring Malaysia and Singapore have imposed bans on poultry products from Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, following the outbreak of bird flu virus in those countries Brunei has not imposed a specific ban on the imports of chicken and eggs.

However according to sources at the Customs and Excise Department, the public should not be alarmed as Brunei has a very tight control on the importation of poultry into the country.

The Customs and Excise Department stated yesterday that they had not received instructions either from the Health Ministry or the Agriculture Department to ban poultry imports from the affected countries.

However they stated that meat imports to Brunei must have a permit and satisfy the Halal and Haram authority.

Yesterday, the Department of Agriculture assured the public that chicken meat and eggs found at supermarkets were safe to consume.

The Sultanate has a current output of over 15,000 metric tonnes of chicken meat and over 5,000 metric tonnes of eggs annually, which are sufficient to meet the local demand for poultry.

However, as a precautionary measure, the Department of Agriculture has tightened the lid on chicken and egg imports by tightening the quarantines at all entry points.

The Department urges consumers not to smuggle chicken without proper permit because it could bring with it the risk of the introducing the infectious disease into the country.

They also said that they have taken the threat of bird flu very seriously and has set out officers to check poultry farms across the country as well as beefing up farm sanitation. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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