Japan rejects poultry from Texas

Japan has banned imports of poultry and eggs from Texas after tests showed that a flock of ducks in the state might have avian influenza, US federal and state officials said.

Meat from birds slaughtered in Texas as of Dec. 1 is ineligible for export to Japan, the US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service said on its website.

Texas is the sixth-largest US producer of chicken meat.

The Texas Animal Health Commission restricted the movement of about 1,000 domesticated ducks in the north-central part of the state after routine tests at an associated live bird market found a “weak positive” result for avian flu, the state agency said.