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The greatest potential health risk to the public

is the consumption of polluted shellfish such as oysters,

mussels and clams, which can accumulate harmful substances

due to their filter feeding habits. The collection of

shellfish from polluted waters such as Victoria Harbour,

Aberdeen, Kwai Chung and Tsuen Wan is therefore prohibited

under the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance.

In addition, the Government monitors the chemical and

bacteriological quality of fish and shellfish and samples

are regularly taken from retail outlets for analysis.

any seafood is found to be unsafe for consumption, action

is taken under this ordinance to prevent its sale and, if

necessary, to prosecute the vendor.

If

As regards the monitoring of seafood contaminated

by red tides, a special procedure has been developed by

which samples of seafood and seawater are taken for

testing for toxicity. Fish killed by toxic red tides are

seized and destroyed. Special inspections of retail

outlets are also conducted to detect any suspected food

items.

9

A.

The risk of contaminated seafood reaching the

market is small and the public would be warned immediately if

S e any cases that are detected. It has been emphasized in past media campaigns that shellfish should always be

properly cooked. As a short-term measure, consideration

is being given to the compulsory artificial purification

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