The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) said today (December 11) that, to safeguard food safety, the FEHD has stepped up enforcement actions against illegal sale of hairy crabs and conducted a blitz operation in Wan Chai yesterday (December 10). Prosecution procedures were initiated against a shop operator for violating the law.
 
     During the operation, a shop in Wan Chai was found to be selling the restricted food, hairy crab, online and in the shop without permission, and was suspected of violating the Food Business Regulation (Cap. 132X). Prosecution procedures were initiated against the operator. As the operator could not produce a valid health certificate for the batch of hairy crabs, the FEHD marked and sealed the hairy crabs to restrict their sale and is tracing the source of the hairy crabs.
 
     Under the Regulation, save with the written permission of the Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene (DFEH), no person shall sell any restricted foods, including shell fish. Operators selling hairy crabs (including physical premises and online sale) shall obtain the Shell Fish (Hairy Crab) Permit or relevant written permission granted by the FEHD. Furthermore, the relevant regulatory condition also stipulates that hairy crabs for sale shall be obtained from a reliable and reputable source. A copy of the health certificate issued by the relevant authority and acceptable to the DFEH shall also be kept.
 
     An FEHD spokesman said, "The FEHD is very concerned about illegal sale of hairy crabs and will continue to closely trace and monitor the situation and take stringent enforcement action. Under the Regulation, any person who operates an unlicensed food business or sells restricted foods without permission is liable on conviction to a maximum fine of $50,000 and imprisonment for six months."
 
     The FEHD urges the public and the trade to source hairy crabs from reliable suppliers and comply with the relevant regulatory requirements. If members of the public suspect that there are operators selling hairy crabs without the relevant permits/permissions or the hairy crabs are not accompanied with health certificates, they may make a report by calling the FEHD hotline at 2868 0000.

Ends/Friday, December 11, 2020
Issued at HKT 19:25

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