1997 — Page 616

Urban Council Proceedings 市政局議事錄 All AI Reviewed

Page 616 of 654

606

HONG KONG PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL

There is a point in Mr. LI Wah-ming's speech which I hope he will clarify when he exercises his right of reply. Just now I heard Mr. Li say that raw oysters can be taken uncooked. I am very surprised at such a remark. As far as I understand, there are two types of raw oysters, the rock oyster coming from the deep sea and the mud oysters coming from the shallow sea, especially in South China. These mud oysters must not be taken uncooked. For the mover, and an Urban Councillor to make such a remark is quite misleading. I hope that when Mr. Li concludes his speech, he will clarify this message.

I know that as far as hygiene is concerned, doctors—we have a Dr. Leung here—have all along been advising against taking uncooked food. From the doctors' point of view, taking uncooked food is doing something harmful to one's health. The motion has not mentioned the reasons for the advance outbreak of cholera, the large number of cases as well as the fast and rapid development of the disease. One of the major problems is public awareness. Their awareness to take precaution and to maintain good hygiene has dropped. This has to do with the methods of eating that have become popular over the last few years. I wish to take this opportunity to draw the attention of members of the public to the fact that taking sashimi is a high-risk method of eating. As for hotpot food, which is supposed to be cooked, different people have different yardsticks in determining whether the food is fully cooked or not. And then there are people who favour rare or medium cooked shellfish, such as cockles and the raw oysters mentioned by Mr. Li, and they might get infected. Take the recent cases of cholera for instance. We got some samples and had them cultured. It took five days before the food samples could be confirmed to be carrying cholera bacteria or otherwise. I therefore wish to take the opportunity to advise members of the public to have this kind of awareness. Sashimi is a raw food. One cannot tell whether it carries any bacteria or not. Neither is there any stringent hygiene standard on this kind of food. It is all the more impossible to test each piece. To have each piece confirmed to be all right before taking it is absolutely impossible because there is no 100% guarantee on their safety.

I therefore hope that if the motion is carried, the Department of Health, the Department of Urban Services and Department of Regional Services will be urged to promote public education on and awareness of hygiene, with a view to changing their habit of taking high-risk food. Lastly, in view of the importance of education, I wish to urge again that clearer messages on hygiene be disseminated. A few days ago I read a feature article in a newspaper (that is, in the health education column), in which the Department of Health advised against taking even uncooked garlic. I consider this to be most meaningful. I therefore hope that Members will take the lead in promoting public awareness. In order to do so, we of course must have the general knowledge of hygiene. We must step up promotion of the general knowledge of hygiene and advise the general public to take only cooked food and to pay attention to cleanliness.

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Page 616 of 654 24 606 HONG KONG PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL There is a point in Mr. LI Wah-ming's speech which I hope he will clarify when he exercises his right of reply. Just now I heard Mr. Li say that raw oysters can be taken uncooked. I am very surprised at such a remark. As far as I understand, there are two types of raw oysters, the rock oyster coming from the deep sea and the mud oysters coming from the shallow sea, especially in South China. These mud oysters must not be taken uncooked. For the mover, and an Urban Councillor to make such a remark is quite misleading. I hope that when Mr. Li concludes his speech, he will clarify this message. I know that as far as hygiene is concerned, doctors—we have a Dr. Leung here—have all along been advising against taking uncooked food. From the doctors' point of view, taking uncooked food is doing something harmful to one's health. The motion has not mentioned the reasons for the advance outbreak of cholera, the large number of cases as well as the fast and rapid development of the disease. One of the major problems is public awareness. Their awareness to take precaution and to maintain good hygiene has dropped. This has to do with the methods of eating that have become popular over the last few years. I wish to take this opportunity to draw the attention of members of the public to the fact that taking sashimi is a high-risk method of eating. As for hotpot food, which is supposed to be cooked, different people have different yardsticks in determining whether the food is fully cooked or not. And then there are people who favour rare or medium cooked shellfish, such as cockles and the raw oysters mentioned by Mr. Li, and they might get infected. Take the recent cases of cholera for instance. We got some samples and had them cultured. It took five days before the food samples could be confirmed to be carrying cholera bacteria or otherwise. I therefore wish to take the opportunity to advise members of the public to have this kind of awareness. Sashimi is a raw food. One cannot tell whether it carries any bacteria or not. Neither is there any stringent hygiene standard on this kind of food. It is all the more impossible to test each piece. To have each piece confirmed to be all right before taking it is absolutely impossible because there is no 100% guarantee on their safety. I therefore hope that if the motion is carried, the Department of Health, the Department of Urban Services and Department of Regional Services will be urged to promote public education on and awareness of hygiene, with a view to changing their habit of taking high-risk food. Lastly, in view of the importance of education, I wish to urge again that clearer messages on hygiene be disseminated. A few days ago I read a feature article in a newspaper (that is, in the health education column), in which the Department of Health advised against taking even uncooked garlic. I consider this to be most meaningful. I therefore hope that Members will take the lead in promoting public awareness. In order to do so, we of course must have the general knowledge of hygiene. We must step up promotion of the general knowledge of hygiene and advise the general public to take only cooked food and to pay attention to cleanliness. Page 616 of 654 £654

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Page 616 of 654 24 606 HONG KONG PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL There is a point in Mr. LI Wah-ming's speech which I hope he w clarify when he exercises his right of reply. Just now I heard Mr. Li say tha raw oysters can be taken uncooked. I am very surprised at such a remark As far as I understand, there are two types of raw oysters, the rock oyster coming from the deep sea and the mud oysters coming from the shallow sea especially in South China. These mud oysters must not be taken uncooked For the mover, and an Urban Councillor to make such a remark is quite misleading. I hope that when Mr. Li concludes his speech, he will clarify this message. I know that as far as hygiene is concerned, doctors—we have a Dr. Leung here have all along been advising against taking uncooked food. From the doctors' point of view, taking uncooked food is doing something harmful to one's health. The motion has not mentioned the reasons for the advance outbreak of cholera, the large number of cases as well as the fast and rapid development of the disease. One of the major problems is public awareness. Their awareness to take precaution and to maintain good hygiene has dropped. This has to do with the methods of eating that have become popular over the last few years. I wish to take this opportunity to draw the attention of members of the public to the fact that taking sashimi is a high-risk method of eating. As for hotpot food, which is supposed to be cooked, different people have different yardsticks in determining whether the food is fully cooked or not. And then there are people who favour rare or medium cooked shellfish, such as cockles and the raw oysters mentioned by Mr. Li, and they might get infected. Take the recent cases of cholera for instance. We got some samples and had them cultured. It took five days before the food samples could be confirmed to be carrying cholera bacteria or otherwise. I therefore wish to take the opportunity to advise members of the public to have this kind of awareness. Sashimi is a raw food. One cannot tell whether it carries any bacteria or not. Neither is there any stringent hygiene standard on this kind of food. It is all the more impossible to test each piece. To have cach piece confirmed to be all right before taking it is absolutely impossible because there is no 100% guarantee on their safety. I therefore hope that if the motion is carried, the Department of Health, the Department of Urban services and Department of Regional Services will be urged to promote public education on and awareness of hygiene, with a view to changing their habit of taking high-risk food. Lastly, in view of the importance of education, I wish to urge again that clearer messages on hygiene be disseminated. A few days ago I read a feature article in a newspaper (that is, in the health education column), in which the Department of Health advised against taking even uncooked garlic. I consider this to be most meaningful. I therefore hope that Members will take the lead in promoting public awareness. In order to do so, we of course must have the general knowledge of hygiene. We must step up promotion of the general knowledge of hygiene and advise the general public to take only cooked food and to pay attention to cleanliness £654

2026-05-16 05:10:10 · Baseline

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Page 616 of 654

606

HONG KONG PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL

There is a point in Mr. LI Wah-ming's speech which I hope he w clarify when he exercises his right of reply. Just now I heard Mr. Li say tha raw oysters can be taken uncooked. I am very surprised at such a remark As far as I understand, there are two types of raw oysters, the rock oyster coming from the deep sea and the mud oysters coming from the shallow sea especially in South China. These mud oysters must not be taken uncooked For the mover, and an Urban Councillor to make such a remark is quite misleading. I hope that when Mr. Li concludes his speech, he will clarify this message.

I know that as far as hygiene is concerned, doctors—we have a Dr. Leung here have all along been advising against taking uncooked food. From the doctors' point of view, taking uncooked food is doing something harmful to one's health. The motion has not mentioned the reasons for the advance outbreak of cholera, the large number of cases as well as the fast and rapid development of the disease. One of the major problems is public awareness. Their awareness to take precaution and to maintain good hygiene has dropped. This has to do with the methods of eating that have become popular over the last few years. I wish to take this opportunity to draw the attention of members of the public to the fact that taking sashimi is a high-risk method of eating. As for hotpot food, which is supposed to be cooked, different people have different yardsticks in determining whether the food is fully cooked or not. And then there are people who favour rare or medium cooked shellfish, such as cockles and the raw oysters mentioned by Mr. Li, and they might get infected. Take the recent cases of cholera for instance. We got some samples and had them cultured. It took five days before the food samples could be confirmed to be carrying cholera bacteria or otherwise. I therefore wish to take the opportunity to advise members of the public to have this kind of awareness. Sashimi is a raw food. One cannot tell whether it carries any bacteria or not. Neither is there any stringent hygiene standard on this kind of food. It is all the more impossible to test each piece. To have cach piece confirmed to be all right before taking it is absolutely impossible because there is no 100% guarantee on their safety.

I therefore hope that if the motion is carried, the Department of Health, the Department of Urban services and Department of Regional Services will be urged to promote public education on and awareness of hygiene, with a view to changing their habit of taking high-risk food. Lastly, in view of the importance of education, I wish to urge again that clearer messages on hygiene be disseminated. A few days ago I read a feature article in a newspaper (that is, in the health education column), in which the Department of Health advised against taking even uncooked garlic. I consider this to be most meaningful. I therefore hope that Members will take the lead in promoting public awareness. In order to do so, we of course must have the general knowledge of hygiene. We must step up promotion of the general knowledge of hygiene and advise the general public to take only cooked food and to pay attention to cleanliness

1997 — Page 616

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