Site visit: Secretary for Food & Health Dr York Chow (second right) visits the processing and distribution centre for agricultural products supplying Hong Kong and Macau in Shunde.

Secretary for Food & Health Dr York Chow says the use of enclosed stainless steel containers and liquid oxygen cooling devices for transporting Mainland live aquatic products to Hong Kong will boost food safety.

Dr Chow visited the processing and distribution centre for agricultural products supplying Hong Kong and Macau in Chencun, Shunde, today, and saw the enclosed stainless steel containers and liquid oxygen cooling devices for transporting live aquatic products to Hong Kong.

The Guangdong Entry-Exit Inspection & Quarantine Bureau selected Shunde to implement a pilot scheme of exercising source control and applying inspection and quarantine seals to the means of transport for aquatic products supplied to Hong Kong to avoid contamination. The use of enclosed stainless steel containers can transport more live fish to Hong Kong without added cost.

Since the implementation of the arrangement to transport live fish to Hong Kong in sealed containers on May 1, farms in Guangdong have transported 1,010 tonnes of live freshwater fish in 101 batches via Man Kam To.

New measure

Dr Chow said: "To step up the monitoring, Guangdong will implement a system of applying inspection and quarantine seals to the means of transport for freshwater fish supplied to Hong Kong in mid-August. Seals will be applied to vehicles and vessels carrying freshwater fish.

"The new arrangement will effectively enhance the management of the transportation process for food supplied to Hong Kong. It will prevent illegal mixing of other fish. This can safeguard the quality of freshwater fish and enhance the safety protection of the food supply to Hong Kong from Guangdong."

In the afternoon, Dr Chow visited a poultry processing plant in Huizhou to learn about its operation and production, as well as the export requirements for chilled chickens supplied to Hong Kong.

Guangdong will hold a seminar for Hong Kong pig farmers who plan to run pig farms in the province to help them understand more about the necessary requirement for becoming registered farms for supplying live pigs to Hong Kong.