Newcastle Disease in Poland: What Poultry Importers Must Do

Key data

Spanish importers of Polish poultry products have an immediate obligation: to verify that their suppliers are not located in the updated restriction zones established by Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/574. This regulation, in force since 10 March 2026, amends the annex to Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/2256 to incorporate new Newcastle disease outbreaks detected in Poland.

Newcastle disease is a highly contagious viral disease affecting poultry and can cause severe economic losses in the poultry sector. The EU's regulatory response is the delimitation of restricted zones from which the movement of certain products is prohibited or limited.

What does this regulation establish?

The European Commission amends the annex to Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/2256 to update the map of restriction zones in Poland affected by new Newcastle disease outbreaks. The specific changes it introduces are:

• Update of the delimited zones in Poland where new Newcastle disease outbreaks have been detected.
• Restrictions on the movement of live birds, eggs and poultry products from the delimited zones.
• Obligation for operators to verify compliance with updated restriction zones before marketing or transporting poultry products from or to Poland.
• Obligation for Spain, as an importing Member State, to apply corresponding controls at its entry points.

This decision does not create a new regulation from scratch: it amends the annex to Decision (EU) 2025/2256, which already established the framework for emergency measures. The key change is the update of the restriction zone map to reflect the evolution of outbreaks.

Economic and operational impact

The consequences for operators who fail to verify compliance are direct and costly:

• Shipment rejection at the border: any consignment from restricted zones that does not comply with the established conditions may be rejected at the entry point to Spain, with the associated logistics, storage and return costs.
• Administrative sanctions: non-compliance with emergency measures may result in sanctions by the competent authorities.
• Supply interruption: if a regular Polish supplier falls within an updated restriction zone, the importer must urgently seek alternative supply sources to avoid stock shortages.
• Verification costs: operators must dedicate resources to checking the geographical location of each Polish supplier with respect to the updated delimited zones.

The poultry sector is particularly sensitive to this type of restriction due to product perishability and dependence on tight supply chains. A shipment rejected at the border can result in total loss of merchandise value.

Who does it affect?

• Spanish importers of Polish poultry products: must verify the geographical origin of their purchases and confirm that they do not come from restricted zones.
• Poultry companies with suppliers in Poland: need to contact their suppliers to confirm their situation regarding delimited zones.
• Transporters and logistics operators: who manage the transport of live birds, eggs or poultry products from Poland to Spain or other Member States.
• Wholesale distributors: who market poultry products of Polish origin in the Spanish market.
• Border control points in Spain: obliged to apply corresponding controls on shipments from Poland.

Practical example

A Spanish import company that receives a weekly shipment of processed poultry meat from a supplier located in the Mazovia region (Poland) should act as follows:

1. Consult the updated annex of Decision (EU) 2026/574 to check whether the supplier's exact location falls within any of the delimited restriction zones.
2. If the supplier is in a restricted zone, stop the current order and contact the supplier to obtain documentation proving compliance with movement conditions, if any.
3. If compliance cannot be demonstrated, find an alternative supplier outside the restricted zones to avoid shipment rejection at the border and associated economic losses.
4. Inform the logistics department so that no transport orders are issued from restricted zones until the situation is clarified.

This process must be repeated each time the Commission updates the restriction zones, as outbreaks may evolve and expand or reduce the affected areas.

What should companies do now?

1. Consult the updated annex of Decision (EU) 2026/574 in the EU Official Journal to identify the current restriction zones in Poland.
2. Verify the exact location of each Polish supplier with respect to the delimited zones. It is not enough to know that the supplier is in Poland: you must confirm that it is not within any restricted zone.
3. Request documentation from Polish suppliers proving that their facilities and the products shipped are not affected by the restrictions.
4. Review orders in transit to identify whether any shipment in transit comes from restricted zones and act before it reaches the entry point to Spain.
5. Establish a monitoring protocol for restriction zone updates, as the Commission may modify them at any time if outbreaks evolve.
6. Inform the purchasing and logistics departments about current restrictions so that new orders are not generated from affected zones without prior verification.