The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is reminding travellers crossing the U.S./Canada border that it is now prohibited to import all raw poultry and all poultry products and by-products that are not fully cooked, including eggs and raw pet foods, sourced, processed, packaged or shipped from 13 states.
Any of the aforementioned products from Arkansas, California, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington and Wisconsin are prohibited from entering Canada.
The Canada Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has implemented measures to protect Canada's poultry resources from an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza reported in poultry in those states.
Due to the expansion of the poultry ban, border services officers in the Okanagan and Kootenay District have seen an increase in poultry products coming from the U.S. which are currently inadmissible due to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's (CFIA) regulations.
The CFIA suggests when you are planning your trip abroad, check beforehand to see if the goods you want to bring back are restricted or prohibited from entering Canada.
General guidelines on what food, plants, animals and related products that you can or cannot bring into Canada can be found on the CFIA's website. Specific CFIA import requirements for each product that you plan to bring to Canada can be found by consulting the CFIA's Automated Import Reference System (AIRS).
For more information on the current avian influenza outbreak, please visit the CFIA's website at www.inspection.gc.ca, or contact the CFIA at 613-773-6600. For more travel tips from the CBSA, visit their website at www.cbsa.gc.ca/traveltips.
Between Feb. 1 and April 20 at the Osoyoos port of entry, officers have disposed of over 2,255 kilograms of poultry products.