ENG-2008 — Page 230

178 | Food Safety, Environmental Hygiene, Agriculture and Fisheries

The Government is also drawing up a food safety bill to introduce a new regulatory regime to improve food safety protection.

The FEHD worked closely with the food caterers and organisers of the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Equestrian Events held in Hong Kong to ensure 'zero incident in food poisoning' throughout the events, an aim that was achieved with the concerted efforts of all stakeholders. The arrangements included checks on food samples and the setting up of a Food Safety Advisory Team to ensure that the services rendered by the food caterers and hotels met the strictest international safety standards.

The Mainland authorities revealed in September that some babies had developed renal stones as a result of consuming milk powder tainted with melamine, a harmful chemical. The revelation caused grave concern in Hong Kong, and the local authorities quickly formed an expert group to monitor the incident. The Harmful Substances in Food (Amendment) Regulation 2008 was gazetted in September to set the legal limits of melamine in foods. A systematic food surveillance programme on milk and other foodstuff was conducted by CFS. About 5 000 food samples were tested between mid-September and December of which 40, or less than one per cent, were found to contain melamine exceeding the legal limits. Foodstuff exceeding the legal limits have been removed from shop shelves.

Enhanced Measures against Avian Influenza

Under an agreement between the Mainland and Hong Kong, all poultry (except pigeons) imported from the Mainland are required to be vaccinated against H5 avian influenza (commonly known as bird flu). Government veterinarians also pay regular visits to registered Mainland farms to ensure that the poultry they export to Hong Kong are healthy.

The existing law prohibits the keeping of chickens, ducks, geese, pigeons, quails and other poultry in backyards. Offenders are fined between $50,000 and $100,000. People who kept poultry as pets before the ban went into effect are required to have exemption permits to continue keeping them. Owners of racing pigeons are required to have exhibition licences.

New licensing conditions require pet bird traders to submit to the health authorities official health certificates, or documents such as invoices showing the places of origin of their birds, or the names and addresses of their suppliers. Sale of birds from unknown sources is prohibited. Bird traders must also keep up-to-date records of their transactions and the number of birds in their possession.

To prevent virus from accumulating in retail outlets, the Government introduced a new law in July that prohibits the keeping of live poultry overnight in retail premises.

The Food Business (Amendment) Regulation 2008 states that all poultry in public market stalls and fresh provision shops must be slaughtered by 8 pm every day and that live poultry are not allowed in those premises before 5 am the next day.