Reduce the risk of food security is a big challenge: the Hong Kong Secretary for Food and Health

"Whenever a new chemical over, we spent a lot of time analyzing and trying to reduce its risk," Hong Kong Health Secretary York Chow told in a recent press interview, which has joined as a major challenge to address the food security crisis in the city.

Plastic additives (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) events in Taiwan, has recently urged the countries including Hong Kong recall of suspected contaminated beverages and test the string region.

DEHP is not expected in the food and food additives is to it is not approved by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Zhou said that there are many unknown chemicals, on the first factor in food testing. In order to prevent a serious impact on the public, the city government has to act quickly.

"We have been informed, we immediately began to sample from our retailers," the city's Food and Health Bureau said, "Actually, we are the first government outside Taiwan, in fact, provided drink ban."

Hong Kong Center for Food Safety (CFS) announced on Friday, and clouding agent in the production of pre-packaged foods daily monitoring of DEHP tolerance. Food containing the chemical, more than 1.5mg/kg restrictions will be banned.

On EHEC infection outbreaks in Europe, the occurrence of other significant health problems recently suspected to be originated from the cultivation of vegetables, food safety center said on Friday it set the relevant WHO and health authorities to monitor close contact situation and strengthened the vegetables imported from European countries import and retail levels monitored.

Pay close attention to food hygiene and safety around the world, is one of many keys to ensure food safety, and to inform the public as soon as possible is also important. "We let the public know early, as early as you can rest assured that they need to stop eating or stop buying these items," Zhou said.

Up to 95 percent of food from the city outside. Therefore, Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety to eat the test sample of 70,000 tests per year attaches great importance to the overall pass rate went over 99 percent in recent years.

In addition to food testing and food recalls, a reliable tracking mechanism can be further protected in a crisis situation, public health. In March, 2011, Hong Kong Legislative Council passed a bill to ensure food security is registered importers and distributors of all importers and retailers have to keep transaction records.

"We always follow the track, and then we will track where they come from," said Zhou, which will help the Government reduce the problem to make it more easy to control and reduce product damage done.

Zhou, who is also a plastic surgeon, has become the city's top health officials since 2004, many food safety issues in the experience. He participated in the work, ask him or her to maintain pressure, despite the people's health fun. "This works because the people live a healthy life is our primary objective sense," he said.

In his view, system and technology innovation to help governments to better respond to the work on food surveillance, resource development through the ability of the city's laboratory techniques to new challenges.

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