HONG KONG PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL
393
The purpose is to amend the Fourth Schedule of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance, Cap. 132 to include 3 new venues viz. Shum Wan Road Sitting-out Area, Shing Yip Street Rest Garden and Lai Chi Kok Temporary Recreation Ground and delete 3 existing public pleasure grounds viz. Queen Street Sitting-out Area, Shu Kuk Street Playground and Tsung Sau Lane Temporary Sitting-out Area.
Mr. Chairman, I so move.
Ms. Grace AU YUK-HAR (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, I second the motion.
The question was put.
The motion was carried unanimously.
(2) MR. WONG Kwok-hing moved the following motion:—In view of the recent spate of vegetable poisoning cases, RESOLVED that the Council urge the Department of Health to liaise with the Provisional Regional Council, and the local and the mainland government departments concerned to conduct a comprehensive review of the relevant steps related to the precautionary measures for preventing vegetables with pesticide residue from endangering citizens' health, so as to further plug possible loopholes and to step up health education among citizens regarding the safe consumption of vegetables. At the same time, the Council also urge the Agriculture and Fisheries Department to actively promote non-contaminated vegetables and pesticide-free vegetables supplied by the accredited farms, so that Hong Kong will advance from the stage of preventing the occurrence of vegetable poisoning cases to the positive stage of providing overall quality vegetables,
He said (in Cantonese):—After dying down for some time, vegetable poisoning cases have resurfaced lately. Cases of poisonous garland chrysanthemum, string beans and garden pea shoots were reported in mid and late November in which people were hospitalized for overdoses of methamidophos. There was also a case of a supermarket chain ordered by the Health Department to take garden pea shoots found to contain too much agricultural fertilizers off its racks. This motion is both important and necessary.
First, I think there is need to carry out a comprehensive review of the vegetable sampling system currently in use. The food inspection centre at Man Kam To has been in operation for about one year. The centre now takes one sample from each truck load of vegetables, but poisonous vegetables are still discovered in the market. It shows there is need for a comprehensive review.
The reason I ask for a comprehensive review is that the problem of poisonous vegetables cannot be thoroughly resolved by discussions at the level
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