HEALTH
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premises is carried out by health inspectors, who are also responsible for investigating complaints of sanitary nuisances and for the prevention of fly and mosquito breeding. Investigation into food poisoning cases and control of infectious diseases are carried out in close liaison with the Medical and Health Department. 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 statutory standard of hygiene are granted licences. During the year, 10,484 licensed premises (this figure includes the New Territories) were regularly inspected by the health staff.
The Food Inspection and Certification Unit is responsible for the inspection and control of imported food and meat products. This unit, maintaining close liaison with other government departments, also deals with the inspection and certification of food for export and the inspection of animal products for export under veterinary certification. Frozen meat and poultry continue to be imported in large quantities, 23 countries having become approved sources for this supply. Consideration is being given to amending the Imported Meat and Poultry Regulations so that more effective control can be exercised over the importation of meat and poultry. Systematic surveys and samplings were conducted to enable chemical and bacteriological analysis to be made of the composition and purity of food and beverages (including milk and ice- cream) on sale to the public. In addition, the list of permitted preservatives used in certain specified foods was brought up-to-date in the regulations governing preserva- tives in food.
A pest control section advises and carries out measures for the control of rodents, cockroaches, fleas, bedbugs, wasps, biting midges and other pests. In the New Terri- tories, the scope of this work 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 Kowloon, and at Kwai Chung, Rennie's Mill Village and Cheung Chau in the New Territories, is also a pest control function.
The health education section continued to organise and participate in publicity campaigns on various aspects of environmental health. Public health training courses were held for specific groups of the public such as food handlers, boy scouts and cadets of the Hong Kong Red Cross. In order to promote health education in schools, various activities in the form of schoolchildren's competitions and contests were organised jointly with the Education Department and voluntary organisations.
Public markets still play a very important part in the daily life of densely- populated Hong Kong where food remains a culinary art at all levels of society. Markets are crowded both in the morning and evening, despite social habits gradually changing in the face of rising incomes, the ubiquitous refrigerator and an increasing shortage of personal servants to do the household shopping. There are 61 public retail markets-41 in the urban areas and 20 in the New Territories. There are also five private markets in the New Territories. Although these markets are convenient centres where meat, fish, poultry, vegetables and fruit are available at reasonable prices, many were built several decades ago and are now too small to cope with today's