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The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (February 4) reminded poultry retailers and the public that the next Rest Day would be on Saturday (February 9).
A department spokesman said that the first Rest Day of the month usually took place on the 10th day, but it was advanced to February 9 (the third day of the Lunar New Year) so that cleaning could be done immediately after the festive days to reduce the risk of avian influenza.
He said on the Rest Day, operators of market stalls and fresh provision shops had to slaughter all live poultry remaining on their premises before noon, and suspend business in the afternoon and evening to carry out thorough cleaning and disinfection.
The spokesman urged all poultry retailers to strictly observe the Rest Day conditions.
"We remind stall owners and licensees that they must not remove any unsold live poultry from their premises to avoid slaughtering them before the start of the Rest Day.
"Our staff will inspect the poultry outlets on the Rest Day. Failure to comply with the Rest Day conditions will lead to immediate cancellation of fresh provision shop licences or termination of market stall tenancies," he said.
Live poultry may still be on sale in the morning of February 9, but none will be sold from noon until the following morning.
Ends/Monday, February 4, 2008
Issued at HKT 12:15
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