1502
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL - 1 June 1988
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 bacterio- logical quality of fish and shellfish and samples are regularly taken from retail outlets for analysis. If 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.
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.
The risk of contaminated seafood reaching the market is small and the public would be warned immediately if any cases are detected. It has been emphasised 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 of local shellfish. Longer-term anti-pollution measures such as the provision of further sewage treatment and disposal facilities and controls on the disposal of livestock waste and industrial effluent should also reduce the risk.
DR. CHIU: Sir, I am grateful that the Secretary for Health and Welfare has given us a very comprehensive reply. I would like to ask what tests are being conducted on seafoods to test for the three types of harmful substances which the Secretary for Health and Welfare mentioned in his reply. What are the results in general and how often are these tests conducted?
SECRETARY FOR HEALTH AND WELFARE: Sir, I am told that during the period between April 1987 and March 1988, 189 samples of fish were taken for examination from various sources, accounting for a total of 485 laboratory determinations and 50 tests for toxicity. Also, 297 samples of shellfish, accounting for 899 laboratory determinations and 81 tests for toxicity were carried out. In addition, 53 samples of fish and 367 samples of shellfish were taken for bacteriological examination. I am not sure of the details of the particular tests applied but I will try and get details of this and let Dr. CHIU have
a note.
PROF. POON: Sir, the Secretary said that if any seafood was found to be unsafe for consumption, the vendor might be prosecuted. Does this imply that the vendor has a legal responsibility to make sure that his seafood is safe for sale through routine testing and analysis of random samples? If yes, has the Government got any statistics that vendors have failed to abide by this requirement?
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