The Municipal Affairs Bureau’s (IAM) Consultative Committee held a regular meeting yesterday during which committee member Lo Kam Kuan expressed concern about food safety especially in the summer, as the bureau had recently discovered that the raw marinated shrimp in a local restaurant contained Vibrio parahaemolyticus, as well as a number of cases of suspected gastroenteritis occurring every year.
Lo made the remarks during the government-appointed committee’s meeting, adding that the catering sector’s knowledge of food safety and hygiene was relatively weak, and the maintenance of restaurants’ facilities was insufficient, suggesting that the bureau’s campaigns promoting food safety should be strengthened.
Committee member Wong Sok Kuan also raised concern about food safety as earlier this month a Hong Kong branded bottled preserved bean curd was found to contain an excessive amount of Bacillus cereus.
Wong suggested stepping up inspections of food products imported from neighbouring regions that have shown frequent food safety problems, especially prepacked and processed foods, as well as strengthening cooperation with food safety authorities in neighbouring regions, and conducting a study on the convergence of rules and regulations on food safety management in the Greater Bay Area (GBA).
Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) Consultative Committee members meet yesterday at the IAM headquarters on Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro. – Photo: Ginnie Liang
