Hong Kong will contact the Mainland to investigate reports of unscrupulous importers using false documents to import vegetables from non-registered Mainland farms, the Food & Health Bureau says.

Both places will take action to keep problem vegetables from entering Hong Kong.

In response to media enquiries, the bureau today said the Food & Environmental Hygiene Department and Customs have strengthened enforcement to increase inspection of inbound vehicles at boundary checkpoints.

The department will also step up inspection of retail outlets to bar problem chilled poultry from being sold in markets.

From 2007 to the end of November 2008, the department inspected about 55,000 vegetable trucks at the Man Kam To control point and did not find any cases in which the source of vegetables was not in compliance with the documents.

Safety tests passed

The passing rate of test results of more than 37,000 vegetable samples collected from 2007 is 99.9%.

There are two channels for vegetable distribution - through direct sale and wholesalers - and the retail price of vegetables through the channels might differ. The bureau said it understands wholesalers are concerned about the impact of market competition on them.