The theme of this year is "Five Keys to Food Safety". The campaign was kicked off by the "Food Safety Day 2008" jointly organised by CFS and Radio 1 of the Radio Television Hong Kong on 29 June 2008 at Tuen Mun Town Plaza. Mr. CHEUK Wing-hing, the Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene, officiated at the opening ceremony. Other officiating guests included Mr. CHEUNG Yu-yan, the Chairman of the Legislative Council Panel on Food Safety and Environmental Hygiene, Dr. CHAN Hon-yee, the Controller of the Centre for Food Safety, Mr. CHAN Yiu-wah, the Head of Radio 1 of the Radio Television Hong Kong, Professor KWAN Hoi-shan, the Chairman of the Expert Committee on Food Safety, Ms LAM Yuen-mui, the Acting Chief Executive of the Consumer Council, Mr. CHAN Wing-on, the Chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades, Mr. YEUNG Wai-sing, the Chairman of the Association for Hong Kong Catering Services Management Ltd, Mr. WU Chu, the Vice-Chairman of the Hong Kong Catering Industry Association, Mr. Ronald LAU Yiu-fai, the President of the Hong Kong Food Council, and Mr. Albert CHAN, the Chairman of the Hong Kong Food & Science Technology Association.

The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) has all along been promoting the importance of tripartite collaboration among the Government, the food trade and consumers to ensure that food sold in Hong Kong is safe and fit for human consumption. To highlight the theme of "Five Keys to Food Safety" this year, CFS has invited representatives of the food trade to sign the "Food Safety Charter". Upon signing the "Food Safety Charter", food trade associations and restaurants are committed to disseminating the messages of the "Five Keys to Food Safety" to their staff, members and customers, as well as to set a good example for the trade so as to uphold the food safety standard.

The "Food Safety Charter" signing ceremony was held on 3 July 2008. More than 70 representatives from food trade associations and licensed food premises who were members of the associations signed the "Food Safety Charter". The ceremony was witnessed by Mr CHEUK Wing-hing, the Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene, Mr CHEUNG Yu-yan, the Chairman of the Legislative Council Panel on Food Safety and Environmental Hygiene and Mr LI Wah-ming, the Deputy Chairman, Dr CHAN Hon-yee, the Controller of the Centre for Food Safety, Professor KWAN Hoi-shan, the Chairman of the Expert Committee on Food Safety and Mr Kenneth SO, the Head of Public Affairs Division of the Consumer Council. Addressing the ceremony, Mr CHEUK said that the trade had been playing a vital role in ensuring food safety by attending to every step of storage, processing and delivery of food from raw materials to end products. He thanked the trade for their enthusiastic support for the Charter and joining with the public and the Government in promoting and implementing measures to ensure food safety.

As at early September, a total of 20 food trade associations and more than 700 licensed food premises have signed the "Food Safety Charter".

All licensed food premises in the territory are encouraged to join the Government and consumers in promoting the "Five Keys to Food Safety" and building a food safe city.

CFS is now inviting licensed food premises to sign the "Food Safety Charter". For the application form and details of the activities, please visit the following web site of CFS:

http://www.cfs.gov.hk/english/whatsnew/whatsnew_fstr/whatsnew_fstr_food_safety_charter.html

Interested licensed food premises can send their completed application form by fax (fax number: 2787 3638) or mail to Communication Resource Unit, 8/F, Fa Yuen Street Municipal Services Building, 123A Fa Yuen Street, Mongkok, Kowloon.

For enquiries or application forms, please call 2381 6370.

In response to a series of food incidents involving imported food, the Food and Health Bureau has announced a package of new measures to ensure the safety of imported food. One of these new initiatives is to introduce new legislation requiring all food importers and distributors to submit to CFS information including their company's particulars, contact details and the main food types which they import / distribute so that CFS can build up a register of food importers and distributors. In the event of a food incident, this will help CFS to more readily identify the importer(s) concerned, trace the source of the problematic food and take necessary actions.

Pending the enactment of the new legislation, CFS has launched a pre-statutory voluntary registration scheme to encourage importers / distributors of various food categories to register with CFS by phases. CFS also encourages the food trade to keep record of the movement of their food to enhance food traceability. Subject to the consent of the food business operators, CFS will upload to its web site the names of those companies registered under the Scheme for the reference of the local food trade and overseas food suppliers.

Further information about the Scheme can be found at the following web page:
http://www.cfs.gov.hk/english/whatsnew/whatsnew_fstr/whatsnew_fstr_pre_stat_vol_scheme.html

Choose

• Imported raw materials for the preparation of sashimi should be accompanied by a copy of the health certificates issued by the relevant authority of the exporting country and acceptable to the Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene (FEHD). Restaurants should purchase from reliable and reputable sources.

Choose

• Obtain fresh and wholesome foods and food ingredients from approved and reliable suppliers.
• Specify the delivery temperature to food suppliers (e.g. chilled food should be kept at 4°C or below) and check the quality of the ingredients upon receipt.
• Use safe raw materials (e.g. use pasteurized eggs to prepare Tiramisu)

Clean

• Staff should practise good personal hygiene and handle food in a hygienic way.
• Wash hands thoroughly with warm soapy water before handling food.
• Cleanse utensils and worktops with hot water and detergent after each use.
• Staff should monitor the hygienic conditions of the food display area and remove any contaminated utensils and food immediately.

Separate

• Store raw and cooked or ready-to-eat foods separately.
• Use separate utensils (including knives and chopping boards) to handle raw and cooked or ready-to-eat foods.
• Display cooked and raw foods separately and provide customers with utensils in different styles (e.g. tongs in different colours or shapes) for picking these foods separately.

Cook

• Cook food thoroughly till the core temperature reaches 75 °C or above.
• When cooking meat and poultry, make sure that their juices are clear and not red; blood is not visible when you cut the cooked meat.
• Bring soups and stews to a boil and continue to boil for at least one minute.

Safe Temperature

• Do not display food too early.
• Store cold dishes (e.g. raw oyster, sashimi and salad) in fridges or on ice at 4°C or below.
• Keep hot dishes in warming devices at 60°C or above.
• Display food in small portions to shorten display time; avoid placing food at room temperature for more than two hours.
• Avoid topping up a displayed batch of foods with a fresh one.

The media reported an incident that the skin of a nine-month-old baby boy turned blue after consumption of congee containing Chinese spinach. He was confirmed to suffer from Blue Baby Syndrome, i.e. methaemoglobinaemia, which is a rare condition under which haemoglobin in the blood has been oxidized to methaemoglobin and is unable to carry oxygen to the body tissues. Subsequent testing of the congee sample confirmed the presence of high nitrate content which could well be converted to nitrite in the baby boy causing the methaemoglobinaemia.

Nitrate occurs in the environment, in air, food (particularly in vegetables and fruits) and water, and is produced inside living organisms. It can also be used as preservatives, mainly in cheese products and cured meat (e.g. preserved sausage and ham). The level of nitrates in vegetables varies greatly among species. Higher levels of nitrate have been consistently reported in certain vegetables. However, the content of nitrate in food is generally safe for adult consumption.

Vegetables are important to human nutrition as a source of dietary fibre, vitamins and minerals and can help prevent the development of cancers and other chronic diseases. The public are advised to maintain a balanced diet and eat a variety of fruits and vegetables (i.e. leafy vegetables, fruiting vegetables, root vegetables, flowering/head brassicas etc. on different days) in order to avoid excessive exposure to chemicals from a small range of food.

Furthermore, babies below 6 months of age are most vulnerable to methaemoglobinaemia and should avoid vegetables of high nitrate content (e.g. spinach, beets) and processed food with nitrates added as food additives (e.g. cheese , cured meats).

Recent newspapers reported that a local woman was infested by the parasitic liver fluke Fasciola after consuming raw watercress during her travel in Southeast Asia. Fascioliasis is an infection caused by Fasciola hepatica (the cattle/sheep liver fluke) or Fasciola gigantica. Humans are highly prone to infestation after eating uncooked water plants like watercress, which provide shelter for liver flukes. They can cause damage and enlargement of the liver during early stage of infestation, and can later cause severe pain in the right upper abdomen or yellowing of skin, and in some cases, skin inflammation. To prevent parasitic infestations, do not consume uncooked water plants, particularly watercress and water chestnuts.

You probably have already known about saturated fat and its harmful effects on human health, particularly the risk of heart disease. In recent years, another type of fat, trans fat, has increasingly become a subject of concern both overseas and in Hong Kong . So what are the differences between these two types of fat? Which one is more damaging to our health? Please take a look at the following table and you will get the answers.

There are so many events not to be missed this summer! Besides the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Equestrian Events hosted by Hong Kong, the Food Expo 2008 organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council from 14 to 18 August 2008 brought together food manufacturers and suppliers from Hong Kong, the Mainland and overseas countries, which offered a wide range of food and drinks to the public. To remind the public of food safety and hygiene while enjoying the great food, CFS set up a booth at the Expo to promote the "Five Keys to Food Safety" through games and exhibitions. Members of the public were advised to follow the "Five Keys to Food Safety" to ensure food safety.

The Harmful Substances in Food Regulations (the "Regulations"), subsidiary legislation of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132), regulate harmful substances in food. The Regulations set out the maximum concentration of harmful substances in food and the substances prohibited for use in food. Any person who contravenes the Regulations is liable to a maximum fine of $50,000, imprisonment for 6 months and suspension of his food business licence.

The Regulations stipulate that the maximum permitted concentration of aflatoxin in peanut products and other food products are 20 and 15 micrograms per kilogram of the food respectively. Traces of aflatoxin may be found in food and long term intake may cause liver cancer.

In addition, the Regulations stipulate that clenbuterol is a prohibited substance. Selling pork and pig offal containing clenbuterol (a leanness-enhancing agent) is in breach of the Regulations. Consumption of clenbuterol tainted pig offal and pork may cause symptoms like dizziness, headache, hand tremor, palpitation and agitation. People with heart diseases are prone to more severe effects.