The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat: Details of the meetings of the Legislative Council (LegCo) and its Committees to be held in the LegCo Complex during the week from June 17 to Jun… read more
The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (June 14) said that two kinds of prepackaged rice seasonings manufactured in Korea might contain allergens, egg and milk, but they were not declared on the products’ food labels. Consumers who are allergic to egg or milk are advised not to eat the affected products. The trade should also stop using or selling the products concerned immediately should they possess them.
Product details are as follows:
Product name: Chung Jung One Rice Sprinkles (vegetable)
Place of origin: Korea
Manufacturer: Daesang Corporation (Kiheung Plant)
Importer: Kofco Enterprise (Asia) Co Ltd
Net weight: 24 grams per pack
Best-before-dates: December 6, 2018, April 26, 2019 and July 26, 2019
Product name: Chung Jung One Rice Sprinkles (seafood)
Place of origin: Korea
Manufacturer: Daesang Corporation (Kiheung Plant)
Importer: Kofco Enterprise (Asia) Co Ltd
Net weight: 24 grams per pack
Best-before-dates: December 27, 2018 and April 26, 2019
“The CFS, through its Food Incident Surveillance System, noted a notice issued by the Food Standards Australia New Zealand that the above-mentioned products are under recall because they may contain egg and milk but the ingredients are undeclared on the food labels,” a spokesman for the CFS said.
Upon learning of the incident, the CFS immediately followed up with major local importers and retailers, including the above-mentioned importer. Preliminary investigation found that the importer concerned had imported the above batches of affected products and all of them were distributed for sale. The importer concerned has initiated a recall according to CFS’ instruction. Members of the public may call its hotline at 2307 6618 during office hours for enquiries about the recall.
The spokesman advised consumers who are allergic to egg or milk to stop consuming the products concerned. They should seek medical treatment if they feel unwell after consuming them.
“People who are allergic to egg or milk may have immunologic response like vomiting, diarrhoea and rash upon consumption of food containing the allergens. In severe cases, anaphylactic shock may even develop. As for other members of the public, generally speaking, they would not be subject to such reactions when the food in question is consumed,” he said.
The Food and Drugs (Composition and Labelling) Regulations (Cap 132W) require that all prepackaged food for sale in Hong Kong should list out the food ingredients in its list of ingredients. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $50,000 and six months’ imprisonment.
The CFS will alert the trade, continue to follow up on the incident and take appropriate action. Investigation is ongoing. read more
The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health today (June 14) reported the latest number of cases of dengue fever (DF), and again urged the public to maintain strict environmental hygiene, mosquito control and personal protective measures both locally and during travel.
From June 6 to 13, the CHP confirmed four imported DF cases. The patients had been to Cambodia (one case), Fiji (one case), Indonesia (one case) and Thailand (one case) during the incubation period.
As of yesterday (June 13), 58 cases had been confirmed this year, all of which were imported. The cases were mainly imported from Thailand (12), Indonesia (11) and Malaysia (11).
The CHP has been closely monitoring the latest DF situation in neighbouring and overseas areas. DF remains endemic in some areas of Asia. According to the World Health Organization, several Asian countries are experiencing unusually high numbers of DF cases for this time of year. The latest figures revealed that 77 040 cases had been recorded in the Philippines (which was almost double the number of cases reported in the same period in 2018), 52 941 in Malaysia (which was around twice the number of cases reported in the same period in 2018) and 59 959 in Vietnam (which was more than triple the number of cases reported in the same period in 2018). Meanwhile, the latest figures for 2019 reveal that 28 785 cases had been recorded in Thailand, 5 037 in Singapore (since December 30, 2018) and 132 in Japan. In Taiwan, 20 local cases have been recorded in 2019.
According to the announcement of the Health Commission of Guangdong Province, the epidemic season of DF started early this year in Guangdong. As of June 12, 240 cases have been recorded in Guangdong this year, which was significantly higher than that in the same period last year (44 cases). Among the cases, nine were local cases including four in Foshan, two in Guangzhou, and one each in Zhuhai, Zhongshan and Jiangmen.
Members of the public are reminded to adopt personal protective measures against mosquitoes to prevent mosquito-borne diseases such as DF when visiting Guangdong and other affected countries/areas.
The public should take heed of the following advice on mosquito control:
Hong Kong Customs conducted a territory-wide operation codenamed “Octopus” from June 5 to yesterday (June 13) to combat claw-machine shops offering counterfeit dolls. A total of about 2 700 suspected counterfeit dolls and other relevant items with an estimated market value of about $300,000 were seized.
Customs earlier received information alleging that counterfeit dolls were being offered at claw-machine shops in the market. Customs officers later conducted patrols in different districts. After further investigation with the assistance of a trademark owner, Customs officers raided six claw-machine shops in Chai Wan, Lam Tin, Mong Kok, Tuen Mun and Tin Shui Wai as well as a storage facility in San Po Kong during the period. A total of about 2 700 suspected counterfeit dolls and other suspected counterfeit goods, 15 claw machines and five token changing machines were seized.
During the operation, three men and three women were arrested, including three shop owners and three staff members, aged between 26 and 50.
Investigation is ongoing.
The Divisional Commander (Intellectual Property General Investigation), Ms Peggy Tam, said at a press conference today (June 14) that Customs would continue to step up inspection and enforcement to fight against the use of counterfeit goods for the purpose of trade. She reminded consumers to check with the trademark owners or their authorised agents if the authenticity of a product is in doubt.
She also reminded traders to be cautious and prudent in merchandising since the possession of counterfeit goods for any purpose of trade is a serious crime and offenders are liable to criminal sanctions.
Under the Trade Descriptions Ordinance, any person who sells or possesses for the purpose of trade any goods with a forged trademark commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for five years.
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Members of the public may report any suspected infringing activities to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).
The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat: The Legislative Council (LegCo) and its Committees will hold 7 open meetings during the week from June 17 to 22 in the LegCo Complex. Details of… read more