Tag Archives: China

     The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (November 22) announced the test results of a recently completed seasonal food surveillance project on lap-mei. The test results of around 140 samples collected were satisfactory.
 
     A CFS spokesman said, “Lap-mei is popular in winter and the CFS has therefore collected a variety of lap-mei samples including Chinese pork sausages, Chinese liver sausages, preserved duck meat and preserved pork from different retailers including online retailers for chemical tests and nutrition content analyses.”
 
     Chemical tests targeted veterinary drug residues and preservatives usually found in preserved food, as well as other food additives and colouring matters which may be used in the production process. For nutrition content analyses, the contents of energy, carbohydrates, protein, total fat, saturated fatty acids, trans fatty acids, sodium and sugars of the samples were tested to check if they were consistent with their declared values on the nutrition label.
 
     “Members of the public should maintain a balanced diet and avoid excessive consumption of lap-mei in view of its nitrate/nitrite level and potential risk of nitrosamine, as well as relatively higher sodium, sugar and fat contents in some lap-mei. Infants are highly susceptible to nitrite toxicity and should avoid consuming lap-mei, while for young children, the intake of lap-mei should also be restricted.
 
     “Furthermore, the International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization has classified processed meat as ‘carcinogenic to humans’ (Group 1). The public should avoid excessive consumption of processed meat to reduce the risk of developing colorectal cancer,” the spokesman said.
 
     The spokesman also called on the trade to comply with the legal requirements, follow good manufacturing practices and use permitted food additives in an appropriate manner. Retailers should source food from reliable suppliers and maintain a good recording system in accordance with the Food Safety Ordinance to allow source tracing if needed. read more

     The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) announced that as of 0.00am, November 22, the CHP was investigating three additional confirmed cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), taking the number of cases to 12 405 in Hong Kong so far (comprising 12 404 confirmed cases and one probable case).

     The newly reported cases are imported cases which involved mutant strains. The patients comprise one male and two females, aged 23 to 43. All of them arrived in Hong Kong from Group A specified places (high-risk). Two patients tested positive during the “test-and-hold” arrangement upon arrival at the Temporary Specimen Collection Centre at Hong Kong International Airport and one tested positive during quarantine at the designated quarantine facility (Penny’s Bay Quarantine Centre). The CHP has announced the details of one of the cases (12409) yesterday night (November 21) (www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202111/21/P2021112100613.htm).

     A total of 33 cases have been reported in the past 14 days (November 8 to 21) and all of them are imported cases.

     The CHP’s epidemiological investigations and relevant contact tracing on the confirmed cases are ongoing. For case details and contact tracing information, please see the Annex or the “COVID-19 Thematic Website” (www.coronavirus.gov.hk).

     â€‹The spokesman for the CHP stressed, “The global situation of COVID-19 infection remains severe and there is a continuous increase in the number of cases involving mutant strains that carry higher transmissibility, and there are also reports of breakthrough infections in some vaccinated individuals. The CHP strongly urges members of the public to avoid all non-essential travel outside Hong Kong, in particular to specified places with high risk under the Prevention and Control of Disease (Regulation of Cross-boundary Conveyances and Travellers) Regulation (Cap. 599H).” read more

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:          The Faster Payment System (FPS) service will be unavailable from 1am to 11am on December 19, 2021 (Sunday) due to the relocation of sys… read more

     The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) attaches great importance to noise annoyance to citizens caused by noise from shops. To improve the noise environment in various districts, in the past three months the EPD has closely monitored the situation of noise nuisance caused by shops at black spots in various districts and carried out a series of enforcement operations, with a view to stepping up efforts to combat these illegal activities. Relevant departments, including the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) and the Hong Kong Police Force, have also participated in the enforcement operations.

     A spokesman for the EPD said that, during the operations, staff of the EPD conducted numerous inspections at the targeted shops at black spots in Tsuen Wan, Yuen Long, Tai Po, Sham Shui Po, Wong Tai Sin and North Point. The shops mainly sold fresh meat, frozen meat, fish, fruit, vegetables and telecommunications equipment, and used loudspeakers for street cries or broadcasting promotional recordings at high volume for the purpose of attracting customers’ attention to their goods. After assessment, staff of the EPD discovered that 24 shops in a total of 34 cases were suspected to have violated the Noise Control Ordinance. The EPD is instigating prosecution against these shops. Apart from prosecuting non-compliant companies, the EPD will also prosecute the directors of the companies with repeated offences in accordance with the law, with a view to stiffening penalties and enhancing the deterrent effect.

     The spokesman added that the department’s enforcement action will continue, with a focus on shops with repeated contraventions. In addition, the EPD will jointly conduct blitz enforcement action with the FEHD and the Police to combat the illegal activities. The spokesman reminded persons responsible for retail shops and peddlers that they should not use street cries or broadcast promotional recordings in public places to attract customers, so as to avoid causing noise annoyance to nearby residents. Upon conviction, offenders are liable to a maximum fine of $10,000. As for the operators or directors of shops with repeated contraventions, they will also be liable for the offence once convicted. read more

     A Government spokesman today (November 22) reminded people who collected the first consumption voucher via Octopus on August 1 that if they wish to receive the last $1,000 voucher on December 16, their cumulative total "eligibl… read more