6
SUNDAY, JUNE 23, 1985
THE RIGHT WAY TO MOVE MEAT
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MEAT-MOVING IS BIG BUSINESS IN HONG KONG. AT ANY TIME OF DAY FROM JUST BEFORE DAWN TILL LATE AFTERNOON, UP TO 500 TONS OF NEWLY-SLAUGHTERED PIGS WILL BE ON THE ROAD SOMEWHERE IN THE URBAN AREAS. ALSO ON THE MOVE WILL BE ANOTHER 50 TONS OR SO OF NEWLY-ROASTED WHOLE PORKERS.
THE ULTIMATE DESTINATION IS OF COURSE THE CONSUMER'S PLATE. AND, TO ENSURE THAT WHEN THE MEAT ARRIVES THERE IT IS SAFE TO EAT, THE URBAN COUNCIL HAS THE TASK OF CHECKING NOT ONLY THAT THE ANIMAL HAS BEEN HYGIENICALLY SLAUGHTERED BUT ALSO THAT THE CARCASE IS HYGIENICALLY HANDLED THROUGHOUT ALL STAGES OF ITS SUBSEQUENT TRANSPORTATION TO RESTAURANTS OR SHOPS.
IN RECENT YEARS, DESPITE STEADILY INCREASING MEAT IMPORTS AND CONSUMPTION, THERE HAS BEEN NO MAJOR OUTBREAK OF FOOD POISONING ATTRIBUTABLE TO BAD MEAT. BUT MORE AND MORE MEAT IS NOW ON THE MOVE, AND THE URBAN COUNCIL IS WELL AWARE THAT IF JUST ONE VANLOAD (ABOUT TWO TONS) OF MEAT WERE TO BE SERIOUSLY CONTAMINATED THROUGH EXPOSURE TO DIRT OR FLIES, THE RESULTS COULD BE GRIM INDEED.
OVER THE PAST 12 MONTHS, THEREFORE, THE COUNCIL AND THE URBAN SERVICES DEPARTMENT HAVE BEEN INTENSIFYING THEIR EFFORTS TO MAKE THE TRANSPORTING OF MEAT AS SAFE AND HYGIENIC AS POSSIBLE. MAJOR IMPROVEMENTS HAVE NOW BEEN ACHIEVED IN PARTICULAR THERE HAS BEEN A BIG IMPROVEMENT IN THE TYPE OF VEHICLE USED IN THE TRADE.
THE CHANGES ARE BEST DESCRIBED BY THE MAN WHO HAS DONE MOST TO BRING THEM ABOUT IN KOWLOON. HE IS MR NG HON-WING, A SENIOR SUPERINTENDENT IN THE USD WHOSE CONCERN WITH FOOD SAFETY GOES BACK TO 1953 WHEN HE BEGAN WORK AS A HEALTH
INCLUDING INSPECTOR. THE DISTRICTS NOW UNDER HIS CARE
MONG KOK, YAU MA TEI, SHAM SHUI PO, CHEUNG SHA WAN AND KOWLOON CITY MAKE UP THE AREA WHERE THE MEAT TRADE IS BUSIEST AND MOST CONCENTRATED.
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+ THE FIRST
MR NG EXPLAINS THAT THERE ARE TWO PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT STAGES IN THE BULK CARRYING OF PORK. STAGE IS THE MOVING OF CARCASES FROM THE SLAUGHTERHOUSE TO PLACES LIKE MARKETS, RESTAURANTS AND LARGE ROASTING FACTORIES.
/+THE URBAN