Japan's agriculture ministry has officially banned French foie gras from entering the country until French authorities confirm the success of sanitation procedures after the first case of bird flu since 2007 was found in France on Nov. 25.
The officials have noted that the luxury food product will only be allowed to enter Japan a full 90 days if sanitation procedures have been accomplished and if all the birds in the affected French poultry farms become culled.
Japanese authorities have noted a reliance on the French officials to provide genuine information about the bird flu outbreak in order for the ban to be handled properly, according to The Straits Times SoShiok.
Likewise, poultry products from France that have been made just before Oct. 23 will be spared from the ban since the bird flu virus has a three-week incubation period.
Japan has been the dominant importer of foie gras during the first eight months of 2015, and the country is significantly reliant on France, which is responsible for 75 percent of all the foie gras produced in the world.
Aside from Japan, other countries such as Egypt, Algeria, China, Tunisia, Thailand, South Korea and Morocco have banned the entry of French poultry products ever since the bird flu outbreak at a backyard in Dordogne, France, according to CNBC.
Loic Evain from the French agriculture ministry's food division expressed disappointment at the fact that some nations would immediately call for a ban instead of talking about strategies to manage the spread of the virus.
Evain clarified that the 27 partners of France in the European Union have agreed to undergo containment procedures as identified Paris through the guidelines of the World Health Organization.
Back in 2007, the bird flu virus was found in wild swans and the incident was recorded by the World Organization for Animal Health.
Recently in March, Bulgaria and Romania also reported cases of the H5N1 virus.
