ENG-1988 — Page 197

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HEALTH

prevention of mosquito breeding, rat prevention and hygienic ways of preparing vegetables and other foods. In addition to the major campaigns, other health education activities were also held, including health talks, broadcasting services and a health education hotline.

Food

The health inspectorate, backed by medical consultancy and supported by laboratory resources, controlled food for sale, both imported and locally produced. Early in the year, there was a massive outbreak of viral hepatitis A but its spread was checked by efforts of an interdepartmental co-ordinating committee. In July, there was an outbreak of chemical food-poisoning, but this was brought under control within a few days, after the cause was found to be pesticide-contaminated vegetables imported from across the border. Food commodities, especially those from Europe, continued to be monitored for possible radioactive contamination arising from the Chernobyl reactor accident.

The growing number of food establishments and the quantities and varieties of food items available on the local market have increased the importance of law enforcement. This entails systematic food inspection and surveys, including sampling for laboratory examina- tions. Parallel to this is the increasing demand for services for certification of foods for export and re-export to foreign countries and territories. Hong Kong has up-to-date, detailed and effective food laws which compare well with the food legislation of many much larger advanced countries. The review of food legislation is an on-going exercise. During the year, consideration was being given to proposed amendments to the Imported Meat and Poultry Regulations and the Milk By-laws. These proposed regulations will have the effect of providing improved controls on imported meat and poultry, imported game animals and birds, imported raw milk for processing, and the transportation of raw milk.

Externally, Hong Kong maintains a close tie with the Food and Agriculture Organisa- tion, the World Health Organisation and other international authoritative bodies, to keep abreast of developments in food science and technology. Up-to-date information is used not only for food control, but also for the benefit of the food trade and consumers. As the bulk of the local food supply comes from the Mainland, a close working relationship has been developed with the Food Control Service in China.

Markets

The Urban Council is responsible for the management of public markets within its region. There are 58 markets with a total of 9 014 stalls selling fresh foodstuffs and a whole range of clothing and household goods.

The Urban Council reprovisions old markets and, where possible, rebuilds new ones to replace outdated markets on the same sites. To maximise the use of land, new markets are now being accommodated on the lower floors of multi-purpose complexes. These com- plexes provide not only retail market facilities and a cooked food centre, but also a variety of amenities for indoor sports activities, and educational, cultural and recreational pursuits. There are now 10 such multi-purpose complexes in the Urban Council areas.

New markets are becoming more evenly spread in the Urban Council areas, to meet the retail needs of the public. A new market-planning strategy was put into effect during the year, so that instead of building large markets with sufficient stalls for all the street traders in the immediate vicinity, a more consumer-oriented approach was adopted to make markets more viable and to provide a better environment for both the stall-operators and the buying public.