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the motion in that we should enhance education so that the public will pay more attention to the importance of food hygiene. This is very essential to protect our health. Mr. Chairman, with these remarks, I support the motion.
Mr. Joseph Lai Chi-keong (in Cantonese):-Sushi and sashimi almost bring a big revolution in Hong Kong people's eating habits. The Chinese are used to cooked food, namely, fried, stir-fried, stewed and baked food. Although Western food such as salad is eaten cold, they tend to be safer. This is because they are processed in low or high temperature. In the case of sushi and sashimi, they are consumed in between these two temperatures. In a sub-tropical place like Hong Kong, this is a cause for concern. So, I support tightening the law and agree to Ms. Chow's suggestion that we should study the Japanese food legislation as Japan has a history in dealing with this kind of food. Yet, in doing so, we must be very careful because there is quite a big difference between the average monthly temperature in Hong Kong and Japan. That is why we should be more strict in regulating the matter.
Second, we have mentioned amending the legislation to monitor traders and food premises selling sushi. In fact, front-line workers are actually involved in handling sushi and sashimi. Therefore, I focus on these workers who need to be strictly monitored. First, a proper set of working guidelines should be introduced. These should cover the preparatory work by these workers before entering the kitchen, points to be noted when working in the kitchen and the procedure to follow before leaving the kitchen. As for handling food, there should also be a set of guidelines strictly governing visits to washrooms, smoking, drinking and eating for the workers to follow.
Third, the present code of practice stipulates that any person who has a bearing on food hygiene, including chefs, should have an annual medical check and be vaccinated against infectious diseases. This traditional practice, however, might not be applicable to people handling sushi and sashimi, to whom we must be more strict. We should strictly examine the guidelines and professional standard of the trade concerned. Unfortunately, we do not have such a code of conduct or a standard for examining the raw food products. Therefore, I consider that if raw food products are to be strictly monitored, the Government should within a short time conduct short training courses for those people entering this business, so that they will understand that they have to attend such courses before being engaged in the business. In other words, consumers or citizens will have their mind at ease when consuming such raw food products. I really hope that through Ms. Jennifer Chow Kit-bing's motion, the Government will be urged to provide some short training courses for people engaged in the business. Then they can acquire appropriate knowledge of raw food hygiene from the training courses and handle the production of sushi and sashimi up to professional standards. Consumers can then have their mind at ease. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
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