Hong Kong's Centre for Food Safety issued a statement that the processing of applications for importing poultry meat and poultry products from most parts of the United Kingdom would resume with immediate effect.

CFS suspended processing of applications following confirmation of highly pathogenic avian influenza H7 cases on poultry farms in Oxfordshire in June 2008. With the lifting of the ban, all poultry can be imported except from Suffolk, Norfolk, Oxfordshire and Warwickshire counties.

"In view of the control measures taken by the United Kingdom and the fact that there are no other cases of avian influenza reported, we decide to resume processing of applications," a CFS spokesman stated in the press release.

As the British authorities have, other than Oxfordshire, also included Suffolk, Norfolk and Warwickshire counties in their surveillance zone, restrictions are not lifted for these four counties.