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quantity is 20 litres. A dangerous goods licence issued by FSD is required for use/storage of dangerous goods in excess of the exempted quantity. A majority of hotpot restaurants did not provide storage chambers as the quantity of fuel used is within exempted limit.
The eighth and ninth parts of the question concern fire and hygiene standards of fast food restaurants selling hotpots.
Fast food restaurants selling hotpots are subject to the same control measures and licensing conditions as other restaurants in terms of fire protection and food hygiene standard. Fast food restaurants are inspected by Health Inspectors at least once fortnightly and in each inspection, they go through a checklist of items covering storage of food, refrigerators, food cupboards etc. Appropriate advice and follow-up enforcement action is taken as and when required.
The last part of the question asks about the risk of contaminating hotpots by vegetables tainted with pesticide.
To prevent food poisoning arising from consumption of vegetables contaminated by pesticide, Health Inspectors regularly remind and educate food handlers of food premises of the need to properly immerse the vegetables in water for at least one hour or to blanch in boiling water for one minute before consumption. Furthermore, the Food Control Office at Man Kam To with a purpose-built building opened in early 1996 plays an important role in tightening up the control of import of vegetables to ensure that they are safe for consumption.
MR. CHAN KWOK-LEUNG (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, the reason I raise this question is that I find insufficient monitoring of hotpot restaurants under existing legislation. The most dangerous ones are not hotpot restaurants with fixed stoves, but those that make use of portable stoves, including stoves fuelled by spirit, paraffin wax, liquid petrol gas etc., the number of which may be increased or decreased at any time. These stoves are stored in all corners of the premises and they even block passages. Being portable stoves, the capacity for storage of such dangerous goods may be very great. According to Section 33 of existing Food Business (Urban Council) Bylaws, cooking stoves should be included in the layout plan submitted when applying for licenses. I want to know if such cooking stoves include portable stoves for hotpots and if they should be included in the initial layout plan. That is my first question.
My second question also concerns Section 33. It is specified that apart from plans, a written statement of heating equipment and type of fuel used should be included. I wonder if stoves for hotpots come under heating equipment and if the statement should specify the number and type of hotpot stoves planned for the food premises concerned.
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