A pilot survey on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in food was previously conducted by the Centre for Food Safety (CFS), during which raw meat and ready-to-eat (RTE) food were collected between December 2019 and June 2020 at retail level for AMR testing. Based on the results and experience of the pilot survey, the routine surveillance programme on AMR in food has been in progress since 2022. Currently, the samples are tested for extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL-PE), carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE).
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. For data from a consultancy service administered by the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health, please click here.
| ESBL-PE | % positive (Number of positive samples / number of samples tested) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/2019 to 6/2020 (Pilot Survey) | 2022 | 2023 | 1/2024 to 8/2024 (Provisional)@ | ||
| Raw meat | Chicken | 88.1% (251/285) | 63.1% (41/65) | 74.3% (26/35) | 71.1% (32/45) |
| Pork | 84.7% (249/294) | 73.5% (50/68) | 71.9% (23/32) | 65.2% (30/46) | |
| Beef | 65.8% (179/272) | 42.4% (28/66) | 61.8% (21/34) | 56.3% (27/48) | |
| Overall | 79.8% (679/851) | 59.8% (119/199) | 69.3% (70/101) | 64.0% (89/139) | |
| RTE food | Vegetables | 14% (14/100) | 10.9% (11/101) | 10.2% (5/49) | 15.4% (6/39) |
| Sashimi | 13.7% (28/204) | 16.2% (16/99) | 17.6% (9/51) | 12.4% (11/89) | |
| Cut fruits | / | 2.0% (1/50) | 0% (0/50) | 13.6% (6/44) | |
| Sandwiches | / | 2.0% (1/50) | 8.0% (4/50) | 4.9% (3/61) | |
| Siu Mei | / | / | / | 10.5% (4/38) | |
| Lo Mei | / | / | / | 4.3% (1/23) | |
| Sushi | / | / | / | 1.9% (1/54) | |
| Smoked salmon | / | / | / | 0% (0/9) | |
| Raw oysters | / | / | / | 0% (0/24) | |
| Others | / | / | / | 4.2% (14/335) | |
| Overall | 13.8% (42/304) | 9.7% (29/300) | 9.0% (18/200) | 6.4% (46/716) | |
@ With data from the Public Health Laboratory Services Branch incorporated
| CPE | % positive (Number of positive samples / number of samples tested) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/2019 to 6/2020 (Pilot Survey) | 2022 | 2023 | 1/2024 to 8/2024 (Provisional)@ | ||
| Raw meat |
Chicken | 9.1%* (26/285) | 20.9% (40/191) | 29.4% (32/109) | 34.6% (46/133) |
| Pork | 14.6%* (43/294) | 31.0% (61/197) | 32.0% (33/103) | 39.0% (55/141) | |
| Beef | 4.4%* (12/272) | 11.2% (22/196) | 9.6% (10/104) | 13.3% (19/143) | |
| Overall | 9.5%* (81/851) | 21.1% (123/584) | 23.7% (75/316) | 28.8% (120/417) | |
| RTE food |
Vegetables | 0%* (0/100) | 1.5% (3/201) | 0% (0/99) | 0% (0/59) |
| Sashimi | 0.5%* (1/204) | 1.0% (2/195) | 0% (0/105) | 0% (0/112) | |
| Cut fruits | / | 6.0%* (3/50) | 0%* (0/50) | 0% (0/61) | |
| Sandwiches | / | 0%* (0/50) | 2.0%* (1/50) | 1.2% (1/82) | |
| Siu Mei | / | / | / | 0% (0/47) | |
| Lo Mei | / | / | / | 0% (0/32) | |
| Sushi | / | / | / | 0% (0/54) | |
| Smoked salmon | / | / | / | 0% (0/9) | |
| Raw oysters | / | / | / | 0% (0/24) | |
| Others | / | / | / | 0% (0/335) | |
| Overall | 0.3%* (1/304) | 1.6% (8/496) | 0.3% (1/304) | 0.1% (1/815) | |
* Number of samples positive for meropenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae / Number of samples tested for meropenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae. Genotypic testing not conducted on bacterial isolates during this period.
@ With data from the Public Health Laboratory Services Branch incorporated
| VRE | % positive (Number of positive samples / number of samples tested) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/2019 to 6/2020 (Pilot Survey) | 2022 | 2023 | 1/2024 to 8/2024 (Provisional) | ||
| Raw meat |
Chicken | 0% (0/285) | 0.5% (1/211) | 0% (0/119) | 0% (0/150) |
| Pork | 0% (0/294) | 0% (0/216) | 0% (0/114) | 0% (0/162) | |
| Beef | 0% (0/272) | 0% (0/216) | 0% (0/114) | 0% (0/157) | |
| Overall | 0% (0/851) | 0.2% (1/643) | 0% (0/347) | 0% (0/469) | |
| RTE food |
Vegetables | 0% (0/100) | 0% (0/362) | 0% (0/188) | 0% (0/74) |
| Sashimi | 0% (0/204) | 0.3% (1/357) | 0% (0/193) | 0% (0/73) | |
| Cut fruits | / | / | / | 0% (0/73) | |
| Sandwiches | / | / | / | 0% (0/67) | |
| Siu Mei | / | / | / | 0% (0/32) | |
| Lo Mei | / | / | / | 0% (0/32) | |
| Sushi | / | / | / | / | |
| Smoked salmon | / | / | / | / | |
| Raw oysters | / | / | / | / | |
| Others | / | / | / | / | |
| Overall | 0% (0/304) | 0.1% (1/719) | 0% (0/381) | 0% (0/351) | |
ESBL-PE continue to be detected in raw meat and RTE food samples in the AMR routine surveillance programme, with an overall decreasing trend for raw meat.
The proportion of CPE positive RTE samples in the AMR routine surveillance programme is low in general and did not show a statistically significant increase.
VRE is rarely detected in food samples so far.