September 1, 2006

South Korea lifts ban on US poultry

South Korea has lifted its ban on US poultry after the USDA released results of new tests showing that the H5N1 bird flu it detected in Michigan was low-pathogenic.

On Monday (Aug 28) USDA released test results confirming the bird flu found in the two swans was indeed low-pathogenic as opposed to the feared highly pathogenic version found in Asia.  

All South Korean restrictions on raw poultry have been removed, the USDA's Food Safety Inspection Service said Thursday.

The US exported US$30.2 million worth of broiler meat to South Korea in the first six months of this year, up from US$20.3 million in the same time period a year ago. 

There have been no reports of discoveries of the highly-pathogenic "Asian" H5N1 virus in the US.