Officials seized nearly 1,500 pounds of banned meat in Kentucky
- The shipments contained pork and poultry from Hong Kong
- The meats are prohibited due to outbreaks of livestock disease in the region
- All the meat was destined for the same company and was destroyed
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(NewsNation) — U.S. Customs and Border Protection specialists seized nearly 1,500 pounds of prohibited meat products in shipments sent from Hong Kong.
Between August 20 and 28, CBP agriculture specialists in Louisville, Kentucky, intercepted the 13 shipments, which were destined for a company in Bellerose, New York.
All of the shipments contained prohibited pork products; some contained poultry and one also contained other prohibited food. A total of 1,104 pounds of pork, 298 pounds of poultry and 88 pounds of other food were seized and the food was destroyed.
Pork products from Hong Kong are prohibited after outbreaks of swine illness in the region, unless there is a U.S. Department of Agriculture Veterinary Services permit. The diseases of concern include African Swine Fever, Classical Swine Fever and Swine Vesicular Disease.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, none of those diseases may be transmitted to humans, but they could pose a threat to domestic livestock.
Poultry products from Hong Kong are also prohibited due to Virulent Newcastle disease and Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza.
While there are no cases of Virulent Newcastle Disease in humans, according to the USDA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes some subtypes of avian flu are able to infect humans.
