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Food Safety, Environmental Hygiene, Agriculture and Fisheries
Campaigns are carried out across Hong Kong annually to urge people to help stop the spread of rodents and mosquitoes. The department maintains close surveillance of the Aedes albopictus, a major carrier of dengue fever. Anti-mosquito teams conducted about 845,514 inspections of likely mosquito breeding spots and eliminated about 55,353 mosquito breeding places during the year.
Following three and two local cases of dengue fever in 2014 and 2015 respectively, the department continued to deploy additional anti-mosquito teams to sustain mosquito control efforts and also stepped up publicity to remind the public of the importance of mosquito control in 2015.
Cemeteries, Crematoria and Columbaria
The department manages six government crematoria, 10 public cemeteries and eight public columbaria, and monitors the management of 27 private cemeteries.
To cater for growing public demand for columbaria, the government has adopted a three- pronged approach: increasing the supply of public niches, promoting 'green burial' and regulating private columbaria.
Twenty-four potential sites in the 18 districts have been identified for columbaria development. In 2015, the Tuen Mun District Council, the North District Council and the Wan Chai District Council were consulted on sites at Tsang Tsui, Wo Hop Shek Cemetery and Wong Nai Chung Road respectively. These three sites can provide a total of 204,855 new niches.
The government promotes environmentally friendly and sustainable ways for handling ashes, including scattering them in the 11 Gardens of Remembrance managed by the FEHD or at sea. The department provides a free ferry service for scattering ashes at sea and an Internet Memorial Service for the public to pay tribute to the deceased on the internet.
The Private Columbaria Bill, introduced to the Legislative Council on 25 June 2014, sets out a licensing scheme for private columbaria to ensure their compliance with statutory and government requirements, enhance consumer protection and promote the industry's sustainable development. LegCo is scrutinising the bill.
Public Education
To reduce the public's intake of salt and sugar and lower the levels of salt and sugar in food, the government set up an International Advisory Panel on Reduction of Salt and Sugar in Food in 2014 and a Committee on Reduction of Salt and Sugar in Food in 2015 to advise the Secretary for Food and Health on the international experience and local considerations regarding salt and sugar reduction measures. The Centre for Food Safety also launched a series of food safety promotion activities under the theme 'Hong Kong's Action on Salt and Sugar Reduction', promoting healthy eating with less salt and sugar to consumers and the food trade.
In 2015, the FEHD's Health Education Exhibition and Resource Centre in Kowloon Park organised 2,373 health talks for the public and target groups, including students and the elderly.
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