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Relevant authorities in the Mainland and Hong Kong met today (July 15) in Beijing to discuss areas of improvement on food safety, importation of live poultry including ducks and geese, and updating information on avian influenza, the Permanent Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Mrs Carrie Yau, said.

Both Mainland and Hong Kong officials were very concerned about the recent cases of illegal food processing in media reports that caused alarm among consumers about the quality and safety of pre-packed food products, she added.

Mrs Yau led a delegation comprising officials from the Health, Welfare and Food Bureau (HWFB) and the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD), which arrived in Beijing last night.

They had meetings today with officials from the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) and the State General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ).

Speaking on today's meetings with various authorities, Mrs Yau said: "At the meetings, the issue of food safety was discussed at length. Both sides agreed to maintain the existing cooperation and to strengthen the already well-established notification mechanism on food safety.

"Both sides also agreed that enhanced information flow between the retail end and the controlling authorities would help to clamp down on illegal workshops in the Mainland.

"At the same time, we have discussed ways to step up public education on food safety to promote and enhance public awareness of the consumers and food traders.

"With better cooperation and speedy exchange of information, we hope we can tackle the problem at source to enhance consumer protection."

On the recent outbreak of avian influenza in Anhui, Mrs Yau said the relevant authorities had updated the delegation on the latest control and monitoring work in Anhui, their risk assessment and the preventive measures being taken.

Those accompanying Mrs Yau on the visit included the Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene, Mr Gregory Leung; Deputy Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Mr Eddy Chan; and the Deputy Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene, Dr Mak Sin-ping. The delegation will return to Hong Kong tonight.

Ends/Thursday, July 15, 2004

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