SEOUL, November 14 (AJP) - South Korea has tightened inspections on processed poultry from China after the country’s quarantine authority detected genes linked to avian influenza in a shipment of duck ham.
The Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency said Friday that the 21-ton shipment, imported on Nov. 2, tested positive for AI genetic material during routine screening. Officials emphasized that the finding did not involve a live virus and posed no risk of infection.
The products were either destroyed or sent back and never reached consumers.
The batch originated from a facility located near a Chinese plant where AI genes were found in August — a discovery that prompted Seoul to suspend imports from that site at the time. Now, regulators are expanding their caution. The agency has temporarily blocked imports from all producers within the same industrial complex and plans to run enhanced inspections on processed poultry from two additional areas in Inner Mongolia over the next month.
“We will continue rigorous inspections of imported livestock products to prevent the entry of animal diseases,” said Choi Jeong-rok, the agency’s chief.
* This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP.
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