Press Releases
Mainland vegetables safe for consumption
A spokesman for the Food and Health Bureau stressed today (October 20) that
the Government had always attached great importance to inspection of
vegetables imported from the Mainland.
The Administration also maintained close liaison with the Mainland's
inspection and quarantine authorities to ensure the safety of vegetables to
protect public health, the spokesman added.
"The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) conducts random inspections of more than
28,000 trucks transporting vegetables from the Mainland every year. It has
strengthened the measure in the past year.
"From 2007 to August this year, CFS has taken 33,000 vegetable samples at
Man Kam To checkpoint for tests for pesticide residues. The passing rate of
the test results is 99.9%.
"According to information from the Department of Health, no cases of food
poisoning caused by pesticide residues were found in the past four years.
All these objective data show that there is no food safety problem
associated with the vegetables imported from the Mainland," the spokesman
said.
Regarding the traders' procession today alleging that some vegetables came
from improper sources under the guise of a proper label and involved
smuggling activities, the spokesman said: "The Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region Government has already set up administrative
arrangements with the Mainland authorities to ensure the quality and safety
of imported vegetables.
"Strict requirements are imposed on the food safety management system of
vegetables through source monitoring and risk management to ensure the
quality and quantity of vegetables imported to Hong Kong.
"We have reflected the traders' concerns to the Mainland authorities. The
Mainland authorities have looked into the case and released their
investigation results yesterday.
"In Hong Kong, the Customs and Excise Department has launched an
investigation into earlier claims that vegetable trucks have been used for
smuggling commodities and food. The department has contacted the relevant
parties a number of times requesting them to provide evidence including
video tape and specific information for further investigation but to no
avail."
The spokesman appealed again to traders, councillors and members of the
public to provide information to the Customs and Excise Department or the
Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) to facilitate
investigation.
"Customs officers have checked 7,500 vegetable trucks since January this
year. Neither smuggling of Mainland vegetables into Hong Kong nor smuggling
of other commodities with vegetables has been detected.
"Customs and the FEHD have stepped up checks on vegetable trucks at Man Kam
To checkpoint and conducted joint operations from time to time. No
abnormality has been detected so far.
"Customs has contacted their Mainland counterparts. Both sides will
co-operate closely including exchange of intelligence and information," the
spokesman said.
According to the Hong Kong Merchandise Trade Statistics, 543,000 tonnes and
589,000 tonnes of vegetables were imported into Hong Kong from the Mainland
in 2006 and 2007 respectively, while 591,000 tonnes were imported in 2008.
The figures show that the quantity of imported vegetables in the past few
years has remained stable.
The spokesman said: "The official import figures should have reflected a
decreasing trend if large quantities of vegetables coming from
non-registered farms are imported but this is not the case."
In response to the allegation by some traders that vegetable smuggling
activities had seriously affected the operation of the five Government
wholesale markets, the spokesman said the recent development of the
logistics industry had led to an increase in direct-selling of Mainland
vegetables.
Under such a distribution pattern, vegetable buyers can place orders
directly with traders supplying Mainland vegetables and arrange direct
transportation without the need to route through the wholesale markets in
Hong Kong.
"Under the free market policy, the distribution mode of vegetables imported
from the Mainland, either through the wholesale market or direct-selling,
should be decided by the market. It is not appropriate for the Government to
intervene.
"Distribution arrangements have nothing to do with food safety control.
"A market monopoly will arise if all imported vegetables are required to be
distributed through wholesalers or the wholesale markets. This also violates
the basic principle of free market policy in Hong Kong.
"Moreover, this will increase the retail cost of vegetables which will
adversely affect consumers and will not help enhance food safety," the
spokesman said.
The spokesman appealed to the vegetable traders to consider the public
interest and avoid disrupting traffic at peak hours during their procession
today.
Ends/Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Issued at HKT 15:32
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