ENG-1985 — Page 167

HEALTH

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In addition, the Health Education Unit provided a consultancy service on health education methodology and techniques for the public and disseminated public health information on a wide front with the aid of the mass media.

Food

For the protection of public health, the health inspectorate, backed by medical advice and supported by laboratory staff, continued to monitor food for sale, both imported and locally produced, to ensure it was hygienic and safe for consumption. The ever increasing number of food establishments and the quantities and varieties of food items on sale have increased the importance of law enforcement including systematic inspection, sampling of food products for laboratory examination and frequent surveys to ascertain food hygiene and safety. At the same time, liaison with the World Health Organisation and other international bodies has continued with a view to keeping Hong Kong abreast of international developments in food science and toxicological evaluation for the protection and benefit of local food traders and consumers. During the year, the Food and Drugs (Composition and Labelling) Regulations and the Harmful Substances in Food Regula- tions were updated.

Markets

In the urban areas of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, the Urban Council runs 56 public markets with more than 8 000 stalls selling different commodities ranging from fresh foodstuffs such as meat, poultry, vegetables and fruits, to general merchandise such as clothing, household goods and other daily necessities. In line with the council's policy of moving street traders into market buildings, a wide range of items is now available for sale in new markets, and the design of new market complexes also includes the standard provision of a cooked food centre.

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It is the Urban Council's policy to reprovision outdated markets and replace them with multi-purpose complexes to cater for other needs of the community such as games halls, libraries, rest gardens and auditoria for the performing arts, as well as markets. This results in a more efficient and productive use of available land, while at the same time providing a variety of community services at one location. With the completion of Ngau Chi Wan Complex (Phase I), there is now a total of five such market complexes in the urban areas.

The Regional Services Department is responsible for the management of public markets in the non-urban areas. There are 27 public markets and 10 cooked food markets with a total of 4 456 market stalls and 306 cooked food stalls under its management. Four new markets, namely Sai Kung Market, Tai Wai Market, Mui Wo Ferry Concourse Cooked Food Market and Kwu Tung Market, were commissioned in 1985, providing 539 additional market stalls. During the year, three old markets were demolished.

Hawkers

The Urban Council is responsible for the management and control of hawkers in the urban areas of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. In 1985, there were 23 500 licensed hawkers in the urban areas, a decline of 2 200 compared with 1984. This reduction was the result of continuing efforts to move on-street hawkers into markets. The number of unlicensed hawkers tends to fluctuate from year to year, and it was estimated that there were 17 000 in 1985. These large numbers represent a considerable street management problem in the crowded urban areas. In order to tackle this problem in a more efficient way, a Working Party of six Urban Councillors and three officials was set up in 1984 to review hawker and