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Following is a question by the Hon.Michael Ho, and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment and Food, Mrs Lily Yam, in the Legislative Council today (April 5).

Question:

On the third of last month, a fresh provision shop operator was convicted by the court of selling pork containing Clenbuterol, an asthma drug, and the conviction was the first of its kind. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) of the annual number of persons hospitalized after eating pork or pig offal suspected of containing Clenbuterol since 1998;

(b) of the annual number of prosecutions instituted against sellers of such pork since 1998, the current number of cases set down for hearing, the reasons for unsuccessful conviction until early last month, as well as the difficulties encountered in gathering evidence and instituting prosecutions;

(c) whether it has traced the source of the pork containing Clenbuterol sold by the fresh provision shop concerned; and

(d) of the progress of the plan to regulate the use of Clenbuterol and other chemicals by poultry farmers and the specific legislative timetable?

Reply:

(a) Two and five persons fell ill and were admitted into hospital after eating pork or pig offal suspected of containing Clenbuterol in 1998 and 1999 respectively. No such cases have been identified so far this year.

(b) There was no prosecution related to the sale of pork and pig offal containing Clenbuterol in or before 1998. In 1999, 13 prosecutions were instituted under section 52 of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance. To date, there have been six convictions. Seven cases are awaiting hearing. In view of the time required for various legal procedure (such as setting down for hearing and employing defense counsel), the first case of conviction did not come about until last month. So far, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department has not encountered any particular difficulty in gathering evidence and instituting prosecutions. No prosecution has been instituted so far this year.

(c) During the investigation into the fresh provision shop concerned, staff of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department have asked the shop to produce relevant bills to show the source of the pork and pig offal.

(d) The proposed regulation aims to regulate the use of Clenbuterol and other chemicals by farmers in feeding livestock and poultry. We plan to require feed suppliers to state explicitly feed composition and usage directions. We would also control the chemical contents of animal feeds and bar the sale and import of live pigs containing harmful or excessive chemicals. We are working on details and aim to introduce the regulation into the Legislative Council in the next legislative session.

End/Wednesday April 5, 2000

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