Poultry and eggs from Nigeria and 39 other countries, including 10 other African countries, have been banned from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, while the Kingdom placed a partial ban on specific provinces and cities in 16 other countries.

The ban on Nigerian poultry and eggs was imposed by the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) as part of its precautionary measures to safeguard public health and strengthen food safety standards within the local market.

Apart from Nigeria, countries like South Africa, Ghana, Cameroon, Libya, Egypt, Burkina Faso, Sudan, Niger and the Ivory Coast from the African continent were also affected by the ban.

The list of countries affected by the ban, according to the Saudi newspaper, Saudi Gazette, remained subject to periodic review in response to global health developments.

Quoting Okaz newspaper on the latest update, Saudi Gazette reported that certain countries had been under ban since 2004, while others had been added progressively over the years based on risk assessments and international reports concerning animal diseases, most notably outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza.

It reported that this approach demonstrates the SFDA’s ongoing commitment to closely monitoring the evolving global epidemiological landscape.

The Saudi newspaper listed countries affected by the total ban as: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Germany, Indonesia, Iran, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Bangladesh, Taiwan, Djibouti, South Africa, China, Iraq, Ghana, Palestine, Vietnam, Cambodia, Kazakhstan, Cameroon, South Korea, North Korea, Laos, Libya, Myanmar, the United Kingdom, Egypt, Mexico, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, India, Hong Kong, Japan, Burkina Faso, Sudan, Serbia, Slovenia, Ivory Coast, and Montenegro.

Some provinces and cities from 16 countries: Australia, the United States, Italy, Belgium, Bhutan, Poland, Togo, Denmark, Romania, Zimbabwe, France, the Philippines, Canada, Malaysia, Austria and the Democratic Republic of Congo, are affected by the partial ban.

The SFDA, according to the newspaper, clarified that poultry meat and related products that have undergone heat treatment or other processing methods sufficient to eliminate the Newcastle disease virus will be exempt from the temporary ban, provided they fully comply with approved health requirements, regulations, and standards.

“Such products must be accompanied by a health certificate issued by the competent official authorities in the country of origin, confirming that the heat treatment or processing applied is adequate to eliminate the Newcastle disease virus.

“This exemption is granted without prejudice to the requirement that the product originates from an approved facility,” Saudi Gazette reported.(Nigerian Tribune)