First published: September 27, 2023
Latest update: February 11, 2025
Update
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has completed a joint evaluation of France's Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) vaccination program with the United States Department of Agriculture. As a result of this evaluation, the only commodities that are not permitted for import into Canada are raw/unprocessed products from vaccinated birds, hatching eggs, live birds or poultry sourced from flocks that have been vaccinated against HPAI, and live birds or poultry vaccinated against HPAI.
The following commodities can be imported into Canada:
- live birds and poultry that have not been vaccinated for HPAI, as well as hatching eggs, live birds and poultry sourced from flocks that have not been vaccinated against HPAI
- products that originate from birds that have not been vaccinated against HPAI:
- unprocessed avian and poultry products and by-products including eggs, feathers, poultry manure and litter
- laboratory material containing poultry products/by-products
- raw or unprocessed pet food containing poultry products or by-products and
- edible or inedible raw poultry meat
Please note that the following products are still eligible for import:
- cooked or canned poultry meat from vaccinated birds
- hermetically sealed, commercially sterile meat from vaccinated birds
- meat or products from birds slaughtered prior to October 1, 2023, with the slaughter date appearing on documents signed by an official veterinarian of France
This applies to poultry commodities sourced, processed, packaged or shipped from France and imported into Canada directly or indirectly.
Background
- In March 2023, the European Union (EU) passed new legislation governing the use of vaccination as a strategy for the mitigation of outbreaks of animal diseases, including Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI)
- In addition to the current mitigation measures for HPAI (biosecurity and surveillance, etc.),France initiated mandatory HPAI vaccination in ducks raised for meat production in October 2023
- Vaccination of ducks for meat production is mandatory, and vaccination of breeder ducks is permitted only for birds that will not be exported from France
- The CFIA completed a joint evaluation of France's HPAI vaccination strategy and surveillance with the USDA, and the scope of restrictions has been reduced to those products originating from individual birds vaccinated for HPAI