The Saudi Food and Drug Authority has announced a ban on the importation of poultry and table eggs from 40 countries, including Nigeria, as part of measures to safeguard public health and ensure food safety in the domestic market.
The authority also imposed partial restrictions on specific regions in 16 other countries.
According to the regulator, the list of affected countries is subject to periodic review in line with global health developments and epidemiological updates. The announcement, reported by Gulf News on Tuesday, noted that while some of the bans date back to 2004, others were introduced gradually following risk assessments and international reports of animal disease outbreaks, particularly highly pathogenic avian influenza.
Under the latest revision, the full ban applies to Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Germany, Indonesia, Iran, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Bangladesh, Taiwan, Djibouti, South Africa, China, Iraq, Ghana, Palestine, Vietnam, Cambodia, Kazakhstan, Cameroon, South Korea, North Korea, Laos, Libya, Myanmar, the United Kingdom, Egypt, Mexico, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, India, Hong Kong, Japan, Burkina Faso, Sudan, Serbia, Slovenia, Côte d’Ivoire, and Montenegro.
Partial restrictions affect certain states or cities in Australia, the United States, Italy, Belgium, Bhutan, Poland, Togo, Denmark, Romania, Zimbabwe, France, the Philippines, Canada, Malaysia, Austria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The authority clarified that the temporary ban does not extend to heat-treated poultry meat and related products, provided they meet approved health and safety standards.
