ENG-1995 — Page 210

HEALTH

Environmental Health Education

The Health Education Unit of the Department of Health's Hygiene Division promotes environmental health and food hygiene through territory-wide educa- tion. Working with the two municipal councils, the unit conducted several health educational activities during the year, including the 1995 Home Environmental Hygiene and You Exhibition and the Food Hygiene Campaign organised for school teachers and members of the food trade. Other publicity campaigns on mosquito and rodent prevention, and prevention of nuisance from dripping air-conditioners, were also staged during the year.

Health messages are disseminated through telephone hotlines and the mass media. Health education materials are also available to general public at the unit's resource centre to publicise the importance of personal, food and environmental hygiene. The unit's resource centre provides telephone hotline services and publicity materials for distribution to the general public.

Food Hygiene

The Hygiene Division controls imported and locally produced foods. The aim is to ensure that consumers are able to buy good, wholesome food which is unadulterated, uncontaminated and properly labelled. Food samples are taken regularly for chemical analyses, bacteriological examinations and toxicity tests to ascertain their fitness for human consumption.

Food items are sorted for laboratory sampling according to the nature of the food and the risks that they may pose to consumers. The Food and Drugs (Composition and Labelling) Regulations were amended in 1995 to update food labelling require- ments. This was to strengthen consumer protection and ensure that local regulations were consistent with international developments.

Hong Kong maintains close ties with the World Health Organisation, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations and other international authoritative bodies on food. As the bulk of the local food supply comes from China, the territory works closely with the Chinese authorities. Regular meetings are held with officials from the Guangdong and Shenzhen Commodities Inspection Bureaus to promote food safety and better food hygiene.

In response to sporadic outbreaks of chemical food poisoning from contaminated vegetables, a food control office was built at the Man Kam To Checkpoint to step up inspection of imported food. Funded jointly by the two municipal councils, the $35 million office houses a vehicle holding area, vegetable inspection bays, a fully- equipped laboratory to conduct confirmatory tests for pesticide-contaminated vegetables, and a workplace for detection of radioactive-contaminated food.

To counter the sale of meat from illegal sources, the Regional Council amended the Food Business (Regional Council) Bylaws to increase the maximum penalty for this offence from $5,000 to $25,000. The two municipal services departments also work closely with the Department of Health in the investigation and control of food poisoning incidents, substandard foods and infectious diseases. In 1995, there were 200 reported cases of food poisoning, involving 1 968 persons.

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