Page 143 of 498
Page 143 of 498
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
MR. CHAN Kwok-Leung (in Cantonese):- Mr. Chairman, in 1994 and 1995, the Department of Health took samples of sushi and sashimi for testing. It was found that the bacteria existing in the food were on the side. The findings of 1995 revealed that 40% of the sushi samples contained more than 100,000 bacteria per gram, which exceeded the hygiene standard, whereas 20% of the sashimi samples also exceeded the standard. The situation is worrying.
Earlier this month, I raised a question regarding the monitoring of sushi and sashimi food products at the meeting of the Public Health Select Committee. The Department of Health replied that the bacteria being found in the past were staphylococcus and salmonella, which are environmental bacteria. These bacteria are causes of symptoms of vomiting and diarrhoea, and are therefore a matter of concern.
At the meeting of the Food Hygiene Select Committee of the Regional Council last month, the Department of Health put forward suggestions for monitoring sushi and sashimi food products. These include formulation of definitions for sushi and sashimi so that these types of food can be incorporated in the Food Business Bylaws for monitoring purposes. In addition, there should be licensing control on the production, delivery, and sale of these food products. Details include the availability of separate places in the food premises for preparation and storage of raw food products. Also, there should be control on the level of temperature for storage of raw food.
The Democratic Party demands the Government to consider the following two points when amending legislation:
First, for the definition of sashimi, a wide scope should be covered. Raw meat products and raw seafood should be included. For instance, some Chinese restaurants provide a kind of raw lobster while some Western restaurants provide raw shellfish food products.
Second, for the level of temperature under which the raw food products are stored, the temperature of refrigerators as well as the temperature of the spots where food is sold should also be included for monitoring. For instance, the conveyor belts are very popular in raw food premises now. From preparing these food products to the moment when these food products are consumed, the time interval can be long or short, during which bacteria will breed easily if the temperature is not low enough.
More urgent is that from the present moment to the time when the legislation comes into force, there should be stringent monitoring so as to protect public health. The Democratic Party suggests that four specific measures should be undertaken immediately before the legislative amendment comes into operation:
1. There should be comprehensive random sampling of sushi and sashimi for examination. In the past two years, samples were mainly taken from raw food premises against which there had been complaints. There might be deviation from the overall picture by adopting this sampling method. Random sampling for all raw food premises will enable the public to have a general understanding of the hygiene standard of raw food products.
Page 143 of 498
ΤΟ ΟΙ 498
140
Page 143 of 498
Page 143 of 498
ΤΟ ΟΙ 498
140
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
MR. CHAN Kwok-Leung (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, in 1994 and 1995, the Department of Health took samples of sushi and sashimi for testing. It was found that the bacteria existing in the food were on the side. The findings of 1995 revealed that 40% of the sushi samples contained more than 100 000 bacteria per gram, which exceeded the hygiene standard, whereas 20% of the sashimi samples also exceeded the standard. The situation is worrying. Earlier this month, I raised a question regarding the monitoring of sushi and sashimi food products at the meeting of the Public Health Select Committee. The Department of Health replied that the bacteria being found in the past were staphylococcus and salmonella, which are environmental bacteria. These bacteria are causes of symptoms of vomiting and diarrhoea, and is therefore a maller of concern. At the meeting of the Food Hygiene Select Committee of the Regional Council last month, the Department of Health put forward suggestions for monitoring sushi and sashimi food products. These include formulation of definitions for sushi and sashimi so that these types of food can be incorporated in the Food Business Bylaws for monitoring purpose. In addition, there should be licensing control on the production, delivery and sale of these food products. Details include the availability of separate places in the food premises for preparation and storage of raw food products. Also, there should be control on the level of temperature for storage of raw food. The Democratic Party demands the Government to consider the following two points when amending legislation:
First, for the definition of sashimi, a wide scope should be covered. Raw meat products and raw seafood should be included. For instance, some Chinese restaurants provide a kind of raw lobster while some Western restaurants provide raw shellfish food products.
Second, for the level of temperature under which the raw food products are stored, the temperature of refrigerators as well as the temperature of the spots where food is sold should also be included for monitoring. For instance, the conveyor belts are very popular in raw food premises now. From preparing these food products to the moment when these food products are consumed, the time interval can be long or short, during which bacteria will breed easily if the temperature is not low enough. More urgent is that from the present moment to the time when the legislation comes into force, there should be stringent monitoring so as to protect the public health. The Democratic Party suggests that four specific measures should be undertaken immediately before the legislative amendment comes into operation:
1. There should be comprehensive random sampling of sushi and sashimi for examination. In the past two years, samples were mainly taken from raw food premises against which there had been complaints. There might be deviation from the overall picture by adopting this sampling method. Random sampling for all raw food premises will enable public to have a general understanding of the hygiene standard of raw food products.
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