Police today (April 16) appealed to the public for information on a man who went missing in Kwun Tong. Cheng Chi-wai, aged 71, went missing after he was last seen in Tsui Ping (North) Estat… read more
The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) today (April 16) urged public not to consume a batch of bottled soda water imported from Thailand which was suspected to contain bromate. The trade should also stop using or selling the product concerned immediately if they possess it.
Product details are as follows:
Product name: Soda Water
Brand: Chang
Place of origin: Thailand
Manufacturer: Cosmos Brewery (Thailand) Co Ltd
Importer: Best Spirits Co Ltd
Volume: 325 millilitres per bottle
Best before date: January 23, 2021
“The CFS, through its Food Incident Surveillance System, noted a notice issued by the Macau authorities concerned that the abovementioned soda water product re-exported from Hong Kong contained bromate at a level exceeding the safety standard of Macau and its sale had to be stopped,” a CFS spokesman said.
The CFS immediately contacted major local importers and retailers for follow-up. Preliminary investigations revealed that an importer, Best Spirits Co Ltd, had imported 2 800 cartons of the affected batch of the product, with some 100 cartons re-exported to Macau, and the remaining distributed in Hong Kong. The importer concerned has initiated a recall of the affected batch of product according to CFS’ instructions. Members of the public may call the importer’s hotline 2378 2563 or 2378 2561 during office hours for enquiries about the recall. The CFS is tracing the distribution of the product.
“Bromate is the ionic form of bromic acid in aqueous solution. The bromate in drinking water is formed during ozonation process of water. If a large amount of bromate is consumed, people may experience gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. It may also affect the kidney and nervous system in severe cases. Although there is evidence suggesting that bromate can cause cancer in animals, there is not yet sufficient data confirming that it can cause cancer in humans.” the spokesman added.
According to Section 54 of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap 132), all food for sale in Hong Kong, locally produced or imported, should be fit for human consumption. An offender is subject to a maximum fine of $50,000 and imprisonment for six months upon conviction.
The CFS will alert the trade, continue to follow up on the incident and take appropriate action. Investigation is ongoing. read more
The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority: HKMC Insurance Limited (HKMCI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation Limited, announces that, the Special 100% Loan Guar… read more
Western Police District will conduct a traffic enforcement operation against nighttime illegal parking in Western and Southern District of Hong Kong Island from tomorrow (April 17) to April 30. &… read more
The Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Lau Kong-wah, visited the Hong Kong Arts Development Council (HKADC) today (April 16) to understand the work of the HKADC in implementing the “Support Scheme for Arts and Cultural Sector”.
The HKADC launched the “Support Scheme for Arts and Cultural Sector” in March and has already released $80,000 each to 42 HKADC Year Grantees, as well as $15,000 each to about 200 HKADC-funded events. In addition, the HKADC will also release $15,000 to each non-HKADC-funded project and a maximum of $7,500 to each freelance arts worker. Relevant applications have been open since March 20 and the HKADC expects to begin releasing funds starting from next week.
Furthermore, if a freelance arts worker has taught any interest class in a school or a subvented non-governmental organisation, he/she may apply for the schemes to be implemented under the second round of the Anti-epidemic Fund (AEF) from the Education Bureau or Social Welfare Department. The Finance Committee (FC) of the Legislative Council will discuss the schemes under the second round of the AEF tomorrow (April 17). Subject to the FC’s approval, the relevant bureau/department will finalise the implementation details.
The Home Affairs Bureau hopes that the new relief measures can take care of the needs of the sector. The Bureau will continue to join hands with the sector in this difficult time. read more