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Members of the public are advised to observe good food hygiene to prevent food-borne diseases during parties or festive meals to celebrate the Lunar New Year.
The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health issued the reminder as it revealed today (January 25) that 31 more staff members of North District Hospital reported to have developed gastroenteritis symptoms after eating food provided by a caterer during a festive meal, bringing the total number of people affected in the incident to 69.
The latest affected persons, comprising six males and 63 females aged between 17 and 58, developed abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea after having meals at the party on January 23.
Six of them sought treatment either from the Accident and Emergency Departments of North District Hospital or from private doctors. None of them required hospitalization.
CHP has referred the case to the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) for follow up. FEHD has conducted investigation at the concerned food premises and collected samples for laboratory testing.
FEHD reminds members of the trade:
* To assess whether sufficient production facilities (e.g. refrigerators, hot-holding cabinets, worktable surface) and manpower are available before accepting large quantity orders.
* To plan carefully the required preparation and delivery time to avoid preparing food too far in advance.
* Raw food should be separated from ready-to-eat food, these foods should be handled with separate utensils to avoid cross-contamination.
* To observe temperature control rules during food storage, transport and display.
A CHP spokesman also reminds members of the public to observe the following precautionary measures when enjoying delivered food for gatherings:
* Select reliable catering supplier. When ordering large quantities of food, they should consider whether the supplier has adequate production capability to handle the order.
* Arrange food to be delivered at appropriate timing and consume the food immediately.
* Keep cold dishes at 4℃ or below and hot-served foods at 60℃ or above over warming devices.
* Food should not be left at room temperature for more than two hours.
* Wash hands thoroughly with soap before eating and after going to the toilet.
Ends/Friday, January 25, 2008
Issued at HKT 20:46
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