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The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (September 23) ordered the temporary closure of a cooked food market stall in Yuen Long for thorough disinfection after Vibrio cholerae was detected in a water sample collected from its fish tank.
The cooked food market stall is located at Stall No C010 of the Kin Yip Street Cooked Food Market on Kin Yip Street, Yuen Long in the New Territories.
The water sample was taken from a fish tank inside the stall on September 19. The test result today confirmed the presence of Vibrio cholerae O1 El Tor serotype Inaba.
To protect public health, the Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene ordered the immediate closure of the cooked food market stall under the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance.
The stall will remain closed for thorough cleansing and disinfection of the premises and fish tank until the Director is satisfied with its overall hygiene condition and believes that there is no immediate health hazard.
A department spokesman said,"Vibrio cholerae cannot survive under high temperature and can be killed by thorough cooking."
To prevent cholera, the spokesman advised people to observe the following guidelines:
* Wash and scrub shellfish thoroughly;
* Clean the seafood and remove the internal organs, and cook thoroughly before consumption;
* Raw and cooked food must be handled with separate sets of utensils to avoid cross-contamination; and
* Raw and cooked food should be stored separately. Cooked food should be placed on the upper shelf of a refrigerator.
"People should also pay attention to personal and food hygiene," he said.
Ends/Friday, September 23, 2011
Issued at HKT 20:55
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