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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
ADDRESS BY CHAIRMAN
CHAIRMAN (in English):-Ladies and Gentlemen, the meeting is called to order. Before proceeding with the form of business of this meeting, I would like to welcome many guests from the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals. I am very sorry we have only got a relatively short agenda for you today, so there is not much action but we do appreciate your visit.
MINUTES
The minutes of the meeting held on 12 February 1991, were confirmed.
PAPER
The following paper was laid on the table:
(1) Reports to the Urban Council by the Director of Urban Services and Secretary, Urban Council, for the month of February 1991.
QUESTIONS
1. MR. LAM CHAK-PIU asked the following question (in Cantonese):-- Some outlaws have recently smuggled from Mainland China to Hong Kong uninspected pork and poultry for sale. The Council has always imposed very strict control on the standard of food hygiene. So, in view of this practice of unscrupulous profit-making, what effective measures will the Council take to ensure the future standard of food hygiene and to guarantee the public's health?
DR. RONALD D. B. LEUNG, CHAIRMAN OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in English): This question concerns the measures taken by the Council to safeguard food hygiene standards and to guarantee the public's health when uninspected pork and poultry allegedly smuggled from Mainland China are offered for sale for human consumption.
All licensed food premises including market stalls in the urban area are inspected regularly by district hygiene staff of the Department to ensure all food, including meat supplied to the public, is clean and wholesome. Uninspected meat, upon detection, is seized and subsequently destroyed upon conviction in Court of the owner concerned. Smuggling of meat has been traced to activities at the frontier involving local residents. Joint efforts are being made by the Regional Services Department, the Department of Health, Customs and Excise and the Police to crack down on this malpractice. The issue of smuggled meat is being closely monitored by the Hygiene Division of the Department of Health and the issue has been under active consideration by the Hygiene Services Committee on which the Council and the Department are represented. As a consequence, effective measures have been put in place to tackle this issue at the likely points of entry into Hong Kong. In order to prevent any possible infiltration into the U.C. area, the Urban Services Department has, since February 1991, implemented the following measures to detect any sale of uninspected meat:
(a) To launch spot-checks at all meat retail sale outlets, including fresh provision shops and meat stalls in markets at periodical intervals;
(b) To mount pre-dawn blitz operations at those markets where it has been alleged that uninspected meat has been displayed for sale; and
(c) In addition to the above, regular inspections to visit all retail meat sale outlets during marketing hours when most delivery operations are being conducted.
So far, no unstamped meat has been found offered for sale at the meat retail outlets in the urban area. Based on the findings to date, it seems reasonable to conclude that little or no uninspected meat is being sold at retail outlets in the urban area. In view of these measures taken by the Department, the trade is well aware that the sale of uninspected meat is taken very seriously by our Council and Department and shops are unlikely to jeopardise their own position by dealing with such uninspected or smuggled meat.
Mr. Lam Chak-PIU (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, recently, there have been press reports that many meat dealers have mixed up the smuggled meat together with the legal meat to put them out for sale. So do we have any good methods to inspect or identify them? Secondly, apart from the methods (a), (b) and (c), do we have any extra ones? Dr. Elsie TU said that some meat dealers had repeatedly placed the pork on the ground. Do we have any remedial measures to tackle this? Thirdly, according to the answer, the Customs and Excise Department has taken effective measures to curb the importation of illegal meat at the border, but according to press reports, apart from the border, there have been smugglings of illegal meat through the sea route. In that regard, I wonder if the Hygiene Services Committee has any measures to ensure that meat supplied to the public is hygienic.
DR. RONALD D. B. LEUNG (in English):-Mr. Chairman, there are actually three different supplementary questions. The first one concerns the meat traders mixing the meat smuggled from China and the meat slaughtered in our licensed slaughterhouse. As I said in the reply that all inspected meats are stamped. When our health inspectors do their rounds in the shops and if they spot out any meat which is not stamped, then the meat retail outlet operators will be prosecuted. The second point concerns putting the meat on grounds. Our health inspectors would view this as a very serious offence and likewise they will be prosecuted. The third part asks about whether some smuggled meats will really get through the frontiers and get into the meat traders. As I mentioned in the answers, routine inspection would be made at the retail outlets before they
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256
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
ADDRESS BY CHAIRMAN
CHAIRMAN (in English):-Ladies and Gentlemen, the meeting is called to order. Before proceeding with the form of business of this meeting, I would like to welcome many guests from the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals. I am very sorry we have only got a relatively short agenda for you today, so there is not much action but we do appreciate your visit.
MINUTES
The minutes of the meeting held on 12 February 1991, were confirmed.
PAPER
The following paper was laid on the table:
(1) Reports to the Urban Council by the Director of Urban Services and
Secretary, Urban Council, for the month of February 1991.
QUESTIONS
1. MR. LAM CHAK-PIU asked the following question (in Cantonese):-- Some outlaws have recently smuggled from Mainland China to Hong Kong uninspected port and poultry for sale. The Council has always imposed very strict control on the standard of food hygiene. So, in view of this practice of unscrupulous profit-making, what effective measures will the Council take to ensure the future standard of food hygiene and to guarantee the public's health?
DR. RONALD D. B. LEUNG, CHAIRMAN OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in English): This question concerns the measures taken by the Council to safeguard food hygiene standards and to guarantee the public's health when uninspected pork and poultry allegedly smuggled from Mainland China are offered for sale for human consumption.
All licensed food premises including market stalls in the urban area are inspected regularly by district hygiene staff of the Department to ensure all food, including meat supplied to the public, is clean and wholesome. Uninspected meat, upon detection, is seized and subsequently destroyed upon conviction in Court of the owner concerned. Smuggling of meat has been traced to activities at the frontier involving local residents. Joint efforts are being made by the Regional Services Department, the Department of Health, Customs and Excise and the Police to crack down on this malpractice. The issue of smuggled meat is being closely monitored by the Hygiene Division of the Department of Health and the issue has been under active consideration by the Hygiene
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
257
Services Committee on which the Council and the Department are represented. As a consequence, effective measures have been put in place to tackle this issue at the likely points of entry into Hong Kong. In order to prevent any possible infiltration into the U.C. area, the Urban Services Department has, since February 1991, implemented the following measures to detect any sale of uninspected meat:
(a) To launch spot-checks at all meat retail sale outlets, including fresh
provision shops and meat stalls in markets at periodical intervals;
(b) To mount pre-dawn blitz operations at those markets where it has been
alleged that uninspected meat has been displayed for sale; and
(c) In addition to the above, regular inspections to visit all retail meat sale outlets during marketing hours when most delivery operations are being conducted.
So far, no unstamped meat has been found offered for sale at the meat retail outlets in the urban area. Based on the findings to date, it seems reasonable to conclude that little or no uninspected meat is being sold at retail outlets in the urban area. In view of these measures taken by the Department, the trade is well aware that the sale of uninspected meat is taken very seriously by our Council and Department and shops are unlikely to jeopardise their own position by dealing with such uninspected or smuggled meat.
Mr. Lam Chak-PIU (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, recently, there have been press reports that many meat dealers have mixed up the smuggled meat together with the legal meat to put them out for sale. So do we have any good methods to inspect or identify them? Secondly, apart from the methods (a), (b) and (c), do we have any extra ones? Dr. Elsie TU said that some meat dealers had repeatedly placed the pork on the ground. Do we have any remedial measures to tackle this? Thirdly, according to the answer, the Customs and Excise Department has taken effective measures to curb the importation of illegal meat at the border, but according to press reports, apart from the border, there have been smugglings of illegal meat through the sea route. In that regard, I wonder if the Hygiene Services Committee has any measures to ensure that meat supplied to the public is hygienic.
DR. RONALD D. B. LEUNG (in English):-Mr. Chairman, there are actually three different supplementary questions. The first one concerns the meat traders mixing the meat smuggled from China and the meat slaughtered in our licensed slaughterhouse. As I said in the reply that all inspected meats are stamped. When our health inspectors do their rounds in the shops and if they spot out any meat which is not stamped, then the meat retail outlet operators will be prosecuted. The second point concerns putting the meat on grounds. Our health inspectors would view this as a very serious offence and likewise they will be prosecuted. The third part asks about whether some smuggled meats will really get through the frontiers and get into the meat traders. As I mentioned in the answers, routine inspection would be made at the retail outlets before they
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