In the first half of this year, 5-6% of the 5,000 fish tank water samples were found with e-coli content above acceptable level and there were four cases of vibrio cholerae, the Food & Environmental Hygiene Department says, adding monitoring work has been strengthened to contain the situation.

Speaking on a radio programme this morning, Assistant Director Rhonda Lo said an alert mechanism has been introduced this year. If a water sample has been found with180 e-coli parts per 100 millilitres, follow-up tests will be conducted to monitor the situation. If the e-coli content was found exceeding 610, prosecution action would be taken.

From May to September, special attention will be paid to vibrio cholerea in water samples. Any stall found to have it  will be closed for thorough disinfection and cleaning to protect public health.

She said the discovery of more cases of unacceptable e-coli content levels this year is attributable to the effectiveness of the alert mechanism.

Measures to minimise fish-tank water pollution

In handling fish-tank water, Ms Lo reminds the sector of the following:

*Never take water from coastal or vessel-shelter areas;

*Fish-tank water must be distilled and disinfected for one to two hours before use;

*Seafood must be rinsed and shellfish scrubbed before putting it into a fish tank;

*Avoid putting too many seafood into a fish tank which will reduce the effectiveness of disinfection system; and

*Pay attention to workers' personal hygiene and cleanliness of the tools.

She said there are guidelines on sources of fish-tank water and stressed that the department will monitor closely whether they are followed. On the fish-tank water laws, she said the LegCo panel has been considering whether to ban taking water from all or specified locations of the coastal area.

Improved inspection system for food stalls

On food poisoning, Ms Lo said there were some 200 reports in the first half of this year. The department implemented an improved inspection system last year to strengthen monitoring works.

Food stalls will be divided into three categories. For the high-risk group, the inspection frequency will be once every four weeks, while that for the medium-risk group is eight weeks and low-risk group, 12 weeks.

There were 2,300 prosecutions in the first half of this year, while the yearly figure for 2003 was 3,800. Ms Lo attributed the increase to the enhanced monitoring, adding the department will also strengthen its education work to raise the hygiene level of food stalls.