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shellfish in eating establishments. They also complained that as clients, they had no way of ascertaining the cleanliness of the seafood at the time of eating. Besides, there were cases in which the so-called 'fresh' seafood sold by supermarkets and sushi / sashimi shops had gone bad long before being sold. Such incidents may have been the result of the improper handling of the 'raw' food by the suppliers. These problems are causes for concern.
The work of the Urban Council is closely related to people's daily life and public food hygiene is a particularly important part of the Council's duties. Even before I was elected to the Council, I had paid attention to and observed the condition of public food hygiene for a long time. I have also conducted numerous surveys on the hygienic condition of seafood and on the pollution of water for keeping live seafood and have subsequently reflected my views to the Government. However, the Urban Council, Urban Services Department and other departments concerned have disappointed me again and again with their lack of a forward-looking strategy in the monitoring of food hygiene and the enforcement of relevant ordinances.
Before I was elected to this Council, I had thought that being an Urban Councillor would put me in a better position to press my case. But I know differently now. The fact is that the Government has invariably failed to learn from experience and take prompt measures to prevent a problem from happening. On the contrary, it always played a passive role in past incidents. For instance, there have been a great number of serious incidents concerning food hygiene. Still, the public is not provided with adequate and comprehensive protection in this aspect. Time and again they become victims in these 'food hygiene crises'. They are in a state of constant fear and are always at risk.
In recent years, incidents of contaminated vegetables and the spread of El Tor Cholera not only caused public concern, but also reminded us that this might be the time to review the current inadequate food control system as well as the way it was enforced. The Vitasoy incident has called into question the current food labelling system and its reliability. Under the existing law, prepackaged food in general has to carry food labels that provide consumers with such information as durability period and ingredients so that they can make informed choices. But in spite of the existence of the Food and Drugs (Composition and Labelling) Regulations, food products that fail to meet the required standards are frequently found on the market. One can't help but worry about the hygienic standards of those food products that fall outside the control of the Regulations and wonder whether the departments concerned have exercised adequate control.
The people of Hong Kong love seafood. I recall that in response to an enquiry of this Council concerning the pollution of seafood, an official of the Department of Health said that shellfish and seafood would be safe for consumption if they were thoroughly cooked. This is not realistic at all, since such increasingly popular food in Hong Kong as sushi and sashimi is to be eaten raw. Sashimi is all the rage today and more and more sushi shops are opening for business everyday. Many hotels, restaurants and even small eateries attract customers by putting sashimi on their menus. But without any knowledge of the hygiene of the food concerned and its country of origin, customers have nothing to rely on but their own faith in the establishment. It is therefore obvious
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shellfish in eating establishments. They also complained that as clients, they had no way of ascertaining the cleanliness of the seafood at the time of eating. Besides, there were cases in which the so-called 'fresh' seafood sold by supermarkets and sushi / sashimi shops had gone bad long before being sold. Such incidents may have been the result of the improper handling of the 'raw' food by the suppliers. These problems are causes for concern. The work of the Urban Council is closely related to people's daily life and public sood hygiene is a particularly important part of the Council's duties. Even before I was elected to the Council, I had paid attention to and observed the condition of public food hygiene for a long time. 1 have also conducted numerous surveys on the hygienic condition of seafood and on the pollution of water for keeping live seafood and have subsequently reflected my views to the Government. However, the Urban Council, Urban Services Department and other departments concerned have disappointed me again and again with their lack of a forward-looking strategy in the monitoring of food hygiene and the enforcement of relevant ordinances.
Before I was elected to this Council, I had thought that being an Urban Councillor would put me in a better position to press my case. But I know differently now. The fact is that the Government has invariably failed to learn from experience and take prompt measures to prevent a problem from happening. On the contrary, it always played a passive role in past incidents. For instance, there have been a great number of serious incidents concerning food hygiene. Still, the public is not provided with adequate and comprehensive protection in this aspect. Time and again they become victims in these 'food hygiene crises'. They are in a state of constant fear and are always at risk. In recent years, incidents of contaminated vegetables and the spread of El Tor Cholera not only caused public concern, but also reminded us that this might be the time to review the current inadequate food control system as well as the way it was enforced. The Vitasoy incident has called into question the current food labelling system and its reliability. Under the existing law, prepackaged food in general has to carry food labels that provide consumers with such information as durability period and ingredients so that they can make informed choices. But in spite of the existence of the Food and Drugs (Composition and Labelling) Regulations, food products that fail to meet the required standards are frequently found on the market. One can't help but worry about the hygienic standards of those food products that fall outside the control of the Regulations and wonder whether the departments concerned have exercised adequate control. The people of Hong Kong love seafood. I recall that in response to an enquiry of this Council concerning the pollution of seafood, an official of the Department of Health said that shellfish and seafood would be safe for consumption if they were thoroughly cooked. This is not realistic at all, since such increasingly popular food in Hong Kong as sushi and sashimi is to be eaten raw. Sashimi is all the rage today and more and more sushi shops are opening for business everyday. Many hotels, restaurants and even small eateries attract customers by putting sashimi on their menus. But without any knowledge of the hygiene of the food concerned and its country of origin, customers have nothing to rely on but their own faith in the establishment. It is therefore obvious
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