HEALTH
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is carried out by the District Health Section of the Division; com- plaints of sanitary nuisances are investigated and preventive measures are taken against the breeding of mosquitoes and flies. Investigation into food poisoning cases and control of infectious diseases are carried out in close liaison with the Medical and Health Department. Health staff also undertake regular inspection of 6,765 (including New Territories) licensed premises such as restaurants, food factories and fresh provision shops. All applications for licences in the urban areas (other than hawker licences) under the Public Health and Urban Services Ordinance and its subsidiary legislation are dealt with by a Central Licensing Unit which ensures that only premises that comply with the required public health standard are granted licences. Frozen meat and offal, frozen poultry and poultry parts are imported in increasing quantities from various sources. The Food Inspection Unit of the Division is responsible for the in- spection and control of such imported commodities as well as other varieties of imported foods and meat products. It also under- takes the inspection and certification of food for export, and the inspection of animal products and human hair for export under veterinary certification. Control is also exercised over the sale of food and drink for local consumption, including milk and ice-cream, by systematic surveys and sampling to check on quality and purity by both bacteriological and chemical analyses. Legislation was introduced to prohibit the use of Cyclamate (an artificial sweetener) in food and drink following reports of experiments elsewhere involving the use of large dosages of Cyclamates having caused cancer of the bladder in laboratory animals. Amendments were made to the Colouring Matter in Food Regulations by including an up-to-date list of permitted colouring matter based on United Kingdom legislation and also on the recommendation of the Joint Food and Agriculture Organisation and World Health Organisation Expert Committee on Food Additives.
Advisory work and measures for the control of rodents, cock- roaches, ants, fleas, bed-bugs, wasps, biting midges and other pests throughout the Colony are the responsibility of the Pest Control Section. In the New Territories, the scope of this section is extended to include the control of culicine (nuisance) mosquitoes and flies. Weekly larvicidal oiling of streams to prevent the breeding of malarial mosquitoes on Hong Kong Island, in the Kowloon