Taiwan removes Finland from ASF-free list, bans imports of Finnish pork products

Taipei, July 31 (CNA) Taiwan's Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) on Friday removed Finland from its list of African swine fever (ASF)-free areas and warned that anyone caught importing pork products from Finland could face penalties, after the country confirmed domestic ASF cases.

In a notice, the Central Emergency Operation Center (CEOC) for ASF said the Finnish Food Authority had announced on Thursday that ASF had been detected in the country.

According to the Finnish agency, preliminary tests on the carcasses of three wild boar piglets found in Virolahti, Finland's southeasternmost municipality, returned positive results for ASF.

Following the detection, the Finnish government established a containment zone around the affected area to restrict the movement of domestic pigs, according to the authority's website.

In response, the MOA's Animal and Plant Health Agency added Finland to its list of ASF high-risk countries and to its list of countries that have reported domestic ASF cases within the past three years.

The MOA also announced that, effective Friday, imports of live pigs and pork products from Finland are prohibited.

Importers found to have violated the new rules will have the products returned to Finland or destroyed, the ministry said.

According to MOA statistics, Taiwan imported 985 metric tons of pork products from Finland between January and June this year.

The CEOC for ASF issued a similar warning, urging travelers not to bring pork products from Finland into Taiwan.

The center said although there are no direct flights between Taiwan and Finland, there remains a risk that pork products could be sent to Taiwan from Finland by mail.

The center also urged the public to help Taiwan maintain its self-declared ASF-free status with the World Organisation for Animal Health.