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The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) today (November 10) warned all fresh provision shop and market meat stall operators that they should not sell frozen meat as fresh meat, or their licences/tenancy agreements would be cancelled or terminated.
During a blitz operation this afternoon, FEHD officers found three fresh provision shops, at 52, 56 and 67 Kam Wa Street, Shau Kei Wan, selling defrosted mutton as fresh mutton.
A spokesman for the department said that shortly after 3pm today, workers of the shops were caught in the malpractice. Officers then searched the stalls and seized a total of 65 kilogrammes of mutton.
"We will consider cancelling the licences of the meat shops concerned as the operators have breached the licensing condition which prohibits the sale of frozen meat as fresh meat," the spokesman said.
The department will continue to closely monitor the sale of meat at the retail level and take stringent enforcement actions to safeguard food safety and public health.
"Anyone who has doubts about meat being sold at retail outlets should call the department's hotline at 2868 0000," he said.
Ends/Thursday, November 10, 2005
Issued at HKT 21:06
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