PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL
607
Part 3 of the question is about the installation of disinfection and filtration facilities for keeping live seafood. Since November 1998, the Council has endorsed an additional condition requiring licensed food premises and market stalls selling live seafood to install filtration and disinfection facilities in fish tanks. As at 31 May 1999, all the licensed food premises and market stalls selling live seafood except one fresh provision shop comply with the above condition. In accordance with the established procedure of handling premises that contravene any licensing conditions, the Department is currently taking action against the fresh provision shop that has not installed filtration and disinfection facilities. From June 1998 onwards, an additional tenancy condition has been imposed on all licensed/market stalls prohibiting the use of toilet flushing water for keeping live seafood. To prevent the abuse of flushing water and to improve sanitary conditions, a coloured sanitizing agent for domestic use has been added to the water tanks of public toilets in PUC markets since June 1998. With the implementation of the above measures, no illegal use of flushing water for keeping live seafood has been spotted at any licensed food premises or market stalls.
Part 4 of the question is about inspection and examination of seawater samples for keeping live seafood. Health inspectors of the Department conduct regular inspections of the licensed food premises in the Council Area, including those selling live seafood. They also take water samples from fish tanks regularly for bacteriological examination to ascertain that they are up to the stipulated bacteriological standard. As recommended by the Working Group, the Department has increased the frequency of examining water samples drawn from fish tanks of food premises from quarterly to at least bi-monthly since mid-1998. The Department will follow up cases of unsatisfactory seawater samples and will issue warning letters or bring prosecutions against them as appropriate. The number of seawater samples taken from fish tanks in the past 3 years and their results are tabled at the Appendix for Members' information. The statistics indicate that the measures introduced by the Council last year have been very successful and the number of cases of sub-standard seawater quality among the samples has reduced substantially.
Part 5 and 6 of the question enquire whether there is any unauthorized drawing of seawater for keeping live seafood or for sale along the coast within the Council Area. The Department does not have statistics in this regard. The Working Group has noted that under existing ordinances, drawing of seawater for any purposes is not against the law. The Working Group has studied the feasibility of prohibiting the drawing of seawater from certain water zones through legislation and concluded that since the coastline of Hong Kong is very long, it is neither practical nor cost-effective to implement such legislation. The Working Group considers that the most effective measure is to set a standard to control the level of bacteria in seawater used for keeping live seafood at the licensed food premises and market stalls.
Page 463 of 606
Page 463 of 606
Page 463 of 606