ENG-2014 — Page 206

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Food Safety, Environmental Hygiene, Agriculture and Fisheries

Twenty-four potential sites in 18 districts have been identified for columbaria development and in 2014, the North District Council and the Eastern District Council were consulted on the sites at Sandy Ridge and Chai Wan respectively. These two sites can provide a total of about 225,000 new niches.

To better utilise existing resources, with effect from January 2014 the arrangements for placing additional sets of ashes into public niches were relaxed.

The government promotes environmentally-friendly and sustainable ways for handling ashes, including scattering them in the FEHD's 11 Gardens of Remembrance or at sea. The FEHD provides a free ferry service for scattering ashes at sea and an Internet Memorial Service for the public to pay tribute to the deceased on the internet.

The Private Columbaria Bill, introduced to the Legislative Council on 25 June 2014, sets out a licensing scheme for private columbaria to ensure their compliance with statutory and government requirements, to enhance consumer protection and to promote the industry's sustainable development. The Legislative Council is currently scrutinising the bill.

Public Education

In 2014, the FEHD's Health Education Exhibition and Resource Centre in Kowloon Park, organised 2,374 health talks for the general public and target groups, including school children. and the elderly. A mobile education centre helps disseminate food safety and environmental hygiene messages.

The CFS's Communication Resource Unit in Mong Kok organises food safety programmes and provides technical support to people in the food trade and the public. As of December 2014, 23 food trade associations and 1,818 food premises and retail outlets had signed up to the CFS's Food Safety Charter, drawn up to promote best practices in handling food.

The CFS conducted 186 health talks on food safety during the year and deployed two vans to broadcast food safety messages in housing estates and markets. It also launched a series of food safety promotion activities under the slogan 'Safe and Smart Ways to Cook, promoting good cooking methods to prevent or reduce the formation of harmful substances during the cooking process. The CFS also continued to promote the Nutrition Labelling Scheme and to encourage the public to reduce salt and sugar intake.

Measures against Avian Influenza

Government measures to keep avian influenza (Al) at bay include stringent monitoring of the poultry supply chain from farm to retail levels, vaccination of chickens against H5 Al and close surveillance of imported and local birds in Hong Kong.

Under an agreement with the Mainland, all poultry (except pigeons) imported from registered farms must be vaccinated against H5 Al, commonly known as bird flu. Every live poultry consignment bound for Hong Kong must be tested negative for Al (H5 and H7) before being

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