A pilot survey on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in food was previously conducted by the Centre for Food Safety (CFS), during which a total of more than 1100 food samples including raw meat and ready-to-eat (RTE) food were collected between December 2019 and June 2020 at retail level for AMR testing. The samples were tested for extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL-PE), meropenem-resistant organisms (MRO) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE). Based on the results and experience of the pilot survey, the routine surveillance programme on AMR in food has been in progress since 2022.
Below are the results of AMR in food of the pilot survey and routine surveillance programme. The data of AMR surveillance in food are also available on the website of the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health.
| ESBL-PE | % positive (Number of positive samples / number of samples tested) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/2019 to 6/2020 (Pilot Survey) | 2022 | 2023 | 1/2024 to 2/2024 | |
| Chicken | 88.1% (251/285) | 63.1% (41/65) | 74.3% (26/35) | 60.0% (15/25) |
| Pork | 84.7% (249/294) | 73.5% (50/68) | 71.9% (23/32) | 27.6% (8/29) |
| Beef | 88.1% (251/285) | 42.4% (28/66) | 61.8% (21/34) | 20.0% (4/20) |
| Raw meat | 79.8% (679/851) | 59.8% (119/199) | 69.3% (70/101) | 36.5% (27/74) |
| *Vegetables | 14% (14/100) | 10.9% (11/101) | 10.2% (5/49) | 0% (0/7) |
| *Sashimi | 13.7% (28/204) | 16.2% (16/99) | 17.6% (9/51) | 10.0% (1/10) |
| *Cut fruits | / | 2.0% (1/50) | 0% (0/50) | 8.3% (1/12) |
| *Sandwiches | / | 2.0% (1/50) | 8.0% (4/50) | 0% (0/10) |
| *Siu Mei | / | / | / | 0% (0/2) |
| *Lo Mei | / | / | / | 16.7% (1/6) |
| RTE food | 13.8% (42/304) | 9.7% (29/300) | 9.0% (18/200) | 6.4% (3/47) |
| MRO | % positive (Number of positive samples / number of samples tested) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/2019 to 6/2020 (Pilot Survey) | 2022 | 2023 | 1/2024 to 2/2024 | |
| Chicken | 9.8% (28/285) | 21.8% (46/211) | 26.9% (32/119) | 36.0% (9/25) |
| Pork | 18.0% (53/294) | 28.2% (61/216) | 28.9% (33/114) | 27.6% (8/29) |
| Beef | 6.3% (17/272) | 10.2% (22/216) | 8.8% (10/114) | 10.0% (2/20) |
| Raw meat | 11.5% (98/851) | 20.1% (129/643) | 21.6% (75/347) | 25.7% (19/74) |
| *Vegetables | 3% (3/100) | 1.4% (5/362) | 0.5% (1/188) | 0% (0/7) |
| *Sashimi | 1.0% (2/204) | 1.4% (5/357) | 0.0% (0/193) | 0% (0/10) |
| *Cut fruits | / | 14.0% (7/50) | 0.0% (0/50) | 0% (0/12) |
| *Sandwiches | / | 4.0% (2/50) | 2.0% (1/50) | 0% (0/10) |
| *Siu Mei | / | / | / | 0% (0/2) |
| *Lo Mei | / | / | / | 0% (0/6) |
| RTE food | 1.6% (5/304) | 2.3% (19/819) | 0.4% (2/481) | 0% (0/47) |
| VRE | % positive (Number of positive samples / number of samples tested) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/2019 to 6/2020 (Pilot Survey) | 2022 | 2023 | 1/2024 to 2/2024 | |
| Chicken | 0% (0/285) | 0.5% (1/211) | 0% (0/119) | 0% (0/25) |
| Pork | 0% (0/294) | 0% (0/216) | 0% (0/114) | 0% (0/29) |
| Beef | 0% (0/272) | 0% (0/216) | 0% (0/114) | 0% (0/20) |
| Raw meat | 0% (0/851) | 0.2% (1/643) | 0% (0/347) | 0% (0/74) |
| *Vegetables | 0% (0/100) | 0% (0/362) | 0% (0/188) | 0% (0/7) |
| *Sashimi | 0% (0/204) | 0.3% (1/357) | 0% (0/193) | 0% (0/10) |
| *Cut fruits | / | / | / | 0% (0/12) |
| *Sandwiches | / | / | / | 0% (0/10) |
| *Siu Mei | / | / | / | 0% (0/2) |
| *Lo Mei | / | / | / | 0% (0/6) |
| RTE food | 0% (0/304) | 0.1% (1/719) | 0% (0/381) | 0% (0/47) |
* Ready-to-eat food
ESBL-PE continue to be detected in raw meat and RTE food samples in the routine surveillance programme, at a lower level when compared to 2019-2020.
The proportion of MRO positive RTE samples in routine surveillance programme showed a decreasing trend in general. The proportion of MRO positive RTE samples did not show a statistically significant increase.
VRE is rarely detected in food samples so far.