The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Tuesday, May 12, 2020 is 108.7 (up 0.2 against yesterday's index).

     The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (May 12) that a sample of prepackaged fruit juice was found to contain sulphur dioxide, a preservative which is allowed to be used in fruit juice, but the functional class and name of such additive were not declared on the food label. Members of the public should not consume the affected batch of the product. The trade should also stop using or selling the affected batch of the product immediately if they possess it.

     Product details are as follows:

Product name: 100% PRESSED PEACH & GRAPE JUICE
Brand: DON SIMON
Place of origin: Spain
Distributor: Top Label International Limited
Volume: 1 litre per pack
Best-before date: September 17, 2020

      "The CFS collected the abovementioned sample from a supermarket in North Point for testing under its routine Food Surveillance Programme. The test result showed that the sample contained sulphur dioxide. Although the sulphur dioxide level is below the maximum permitted level under the Preservatives in Food Regulation (Cap 132BD), the functional class and name of such additive were not declared on the food label of the sample," a CFS spokesman said.

      "The CFS has informed the vendor concerned of the irregularity and instructed it to stop sale and remove from shelves the affected batch of the product. The distributor concerned has initiated a recall according to CFS' instructions. Members of the public may call the distributor's hotline at 2627 3627 during office hours for enquiries about the recall. The CFS is also tracing the source of the affected product," the spokesman added.

      Sulphur dioxide is a preservative of low toxicity used in a variety of foods including fruit juice, dried vegetables, dried fruits, pickled vegetables and salted fish products. However, susceptible individuals who are allergic to this preservative may experience breathing difficulties, headaches and nausea after consumption.

      The spokesman reminded the food trade that the use of preservatives in food must comply with the Preservatives in Food Regulation (Cap 132BD). Furthermore, the Food and Drugs (Composition and Labelling) Regulations (Cap 132W) require that for all prepackaged food for sale in Hong Kong containing sulphite in a concentration of 10 parts per million or more, the functional class of the sulphite and its name shall be specified in the list of ingredients. Offenders are liable to a maximum fine of $50,000 and six months' imprisonment upon conviction.

      The CFS will alert the trade, continue to follow up on the incident and take appropriate action. An investigation is ongoing.

     A correctional officer stopped a person in custody assaulting another person in custody in Shek Pik Prison yesterday (May 11).

     At 6.41pm, a 40-year-old male person in custody attacked another 25-year-old male person in custody with a ball pen outside a cell. An officer at the scene immediately stopped the assailant and called for reinforcement.

     During the incident, the victim sustained injuries to his head, shoulder and more. After examination and treatment by the institution Medical Officer, he was referred to a public hospital for further treatment. The assailant sustained injuries to his hand, foot and more. He did not need to be sent to a public hospital after examination and treatment provided by the institution Medical Officer.

     The case has been reported to the Police for investigation.

     Both of the persons in custody were sentenced to imprisonment for the offence of trafficking in a dangerous drug.

     Hongkong Post announced today (May 12) that the annual album issued by China Post will be put on sale at the General Post Office, Tsim Sha Tsui Post Office, Sha Tin Central Post Office, Tuen Mun Central Post Office and Tsuen Wan Post Office from May 14. Selected philatelic products issued by the postal administrations of the Mainland, Macao, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom will also be put on sale at all 38 philatelic offices on the same day. All these products will also be available at the Hongkong Post online shopping mall ShopThruPost (shopthrupost.hongkongpost.hk) starting from 8am on that day.
 
     Fans of the "Star Wars" and James Bond series will be thrilled with Royal Mail's stamp issues using these movies as a theme. For those who are fond of nature, the "Australian Fauna II" and "Dahlias" stamp products issued by Australia Post and Canada Post are not to be missed. In addition, the long-awaited annual "Chinese Zodiac Series" stamps issued by China Post and the Macao Post and Telecommunications Bureau are also must-have items on the list of stamp lovers. 
 
     Details of the philatelic products are set out in the Appendix. For further information, please visit stamps.hongkongpost.hk or contact the Hongkong Post Philatelic Bureau hotline 2785 5711.

                      

     With regard to media enquiries about the first-day delivery of CuMask＋™, Hongkong Post today (May 11) gave the following response:
      
     Hongkong Post made a smooth start for the first-day delivery of CuMask＋™. Hongkong Post received about 120 000 items of CuMask＋™ from the Government yesterday. Delivery was arranged for around 97 per cent of them today while delivery for the remaining quantity could not be arranged due to problem with delivery address and arrangement for re-delivery will be made tomorrow. As mentioned in our press release dated May 10, door delivery would be arranged within around two working days upon receipt of the SMS message with item number by successful main registrants.
      
     Among the despatch order arranged for delivery today, about 70 per cent of which has been successfully delivered. For the remaining 30 per cent, collection from post office would be arranged as no one was present at the registered addresses to receive the delivery.
      
     On manpower front, Hongkong Post flexibly mobilised approximately 300 postmen, in addition to the 1 650 postmen responsible for normal mail delivery service, to support delivery offices requiring additional manpower as the distribution of items varies among districts. In general, each postman is required to deliver around 70 to 80 items of CuMask＋™ in average. Since the quantity of items distributed for delivery, based on the despatch order, varies among different beats, it may result in a variation of delivered quantity, be it either more or less than the above average, and hence it is not appropriate to generalise the situation.
      
     In respect of overtime work arrangements, the normal working hours for delivery postmen are 8am to 4pm.  If the work cannot be completed within their working hours, overtime work will be arranged where necessary. Taking into account of occupational safety and health of our staff, we usually limit the duration of overtime work to no more than 3.5 hours, as the total number of working hours of them may have amounted to 11.5 hours. If postmen still cannot complete the work of the day by working overtime of more than 3.5 hours, we will deploy internal resources by mobilising postmen from other sections to provide additional support and share the workload.  The criteria for overtime work required for the delivery of CuMask＋™ this time are in line with the established arrangements of the department.
      
     Hongkong Post will make thorough planning on manpower and resources based on the despatch orders of CuMask＋™ received from the Government, with a view to accomplishing the task smoothly. We greatly appreciate the enormous effort rendered by all our postmen and supporting staff on the back end in this task.