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name under which the produce is sold; the list of ingredients, the net quantity of pre-packaged food; the date of minimum durability and storage conditions or conditions of use.
From June 1980 to October 1981 frequent meetings and exchanges of correspondence took place between the Urban Services Department and the food suppliers. The Food Hygiene Select Committee was briefed on the 3rd of this month that negotiations had come to the final stage and the exact details might be agreed upon. There is no deviation in our proposed regulations from the criteria mentioned in the preceding paragraph. We intend to bring to the Hong Kong consumers similar protections to those enjoyed by the inhabitants of other major cities in the world.
Frozen Food
The press and the public have brought to our attention the unsatisfactory handling and transportation of frozen food.
Both the Department and the Food Hygiene Select Committee see that in Hong Kong we are going to consume more and more frozen food, especially frozen meat, and it is important that the public is not buying meat that has been thawed on display for sale on one day, returned to the refrigerator at night and put back on the shelf on the next day. Intensive inspection on the food displayed is very important. In respect of transportation of frozen meat, at present there is no legislation specifying that it needs to be transported in refrigerated vehicles and this is at par with U.K. regulations. Under by laws 11 and 13 of the Food Business By Laws, any food in transportation must be protected against contamination and deterioration which would cover the situation where frozen meat is transported without a container or in damaged containers. We are, however, looking further into the matter of control on temperature storage of packaged frozen food and the trade is being consulted on this matter.
In each year the U.S.D. runs a Food Hygiene Campaign to promote food hygiene in the food trade. I think it would be proper to publicize the need to thaw properly frozen meat and how frozen food can be properly kept in refrigerator and how to tell whether it is already deteriorating in the talks and seminars.
Food Poisoning Cases
Close to the end of last year in November there has been a major out break of food poisoning case in a North Point Restaurant. This is most unfortunate as the cases of food poisoning out break has been going down in the last 4 years: 1977 213 cases, 1978 204 cases, 1979 146 cases, 1980 102 cases, 1981 97 cases up to this out break in November. This out break was due to infection of Salmonella organism. This kind of infection can be avoided if the food handlers in the kitchen wash their hands more frequently. In this out break 80 people had to have medical treatment and summons were taken out in this case and some employees were suspended from service.
We are taking a further look at our policy in suspending operation of a food premises under the Food Business by laws. Food poisoning out breaks is a very serious matter and we have not closed our category of suspension orders.
In the meantime, I hope food handler will remember another Chinese saying: do not refrain from doing an act of virtue just because it seems insignificant; do not carry out an act of vice just because it seems small 'because that's how Salmonella organisms get into fruit cocktail puddings and I hope all food handlers would remember the saying.
Mr. Chairman, I support the motion.
MR. AUGUSTINE S. K. CHUNG (in English):----Mr. Chairman, another year has passed with more capital projects completed and more meaningful works done by the Council for the benefit and to the advantage of the community as a whole. The Council, of course, could have done and achieved a great deal more had it not been handicapped by the shortage of funds which situation could easily be misconstrued as the Council's inability to economize spending. As a matter of fact, the Council has far heavier and wider duties and serious problems than most members of the public could have visualized. It is neither plausible nor practical to describe all such duties and problems here. However, as an appeal to public support and understanding, I hope it would help by giving a few examples as illustrations thereof.
1. Hawkers
From many hawkers' point of view, the Council is very much want of understanding and sympathy when it has to maintain at very high cost a very large general duty team to keep order in the streets. On the other hand, the general public may challenge the efficiency and effectiveness of the Council in controlling hawkers. However, not many hawkers can realize the degree of nuisance brought about by their activities to pedestrians and traffic, the degree of damage to the economy as a result of the withdrawal of their labour from industries when they are needed and also the unfairness to those traders who have to pay high rent for their shop premises. On the other hand, when the economy is bad and many workers become jobless, their cases appear to be those which warrant special consideration. However, we also have to consider the possibility of their refusal to return to normal work when recession is over. Besides, during the period of acute economic recession, even if we should decide to keep hawkers out of streets altogether and at all times we may find it impossible to do so as our general duty teams would then be out of proportion with the number of illegal hawkers, who may flood our streets playing hide and seek with police and our general duty teams. The problem is really not at all easy to solve. We definitely need more steady and stable job opportunities
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