Press Releases
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AFCD launches consultations on new legislative controls The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) is consulting food animal farmers, livestock feed traders and related parties on a new regulation to control the feeding of drugs and chemicals to food animals. AFCD Senior Veterinary Officer (Livestock), Dr Leslie Sims, said today (August 25) that the occurrences of cases of clenbuterol poisoning in people eating contaminated pig viscera in recent years clearly showed a need for the proposed regulation. Dr Sims said: "The proposed regulation under the Public Health (Animals and Birds) Ordinance will prohibit the use of clenbuterol and related compounds, certain hormonal substances and certain antibiotics that induce antibiotic resistance in human pathogens or cause harm to man." "We will also establish 'Maximum Residue Limits' (MRL) for drugs and chemicals in meat, offal and other food animal products in line with international practices to ensure that the food items remain safe for human consumption. "Farmers will only be allowed to feed drugs and chemicals to food animals in a manner that will not leave residues exceeding the MRL when the animals are slaughtered for food. "Animal feed suppliers are also required to label their products with a list of drugs and chemicals contained, and stipulate the necessary withholding period to ensure that the animals will not carry excess residues when being slaughtered. "This will enable farmers to know exactly what they are feeding to their food animals." Dr Sims said. Veterinary authorities of countries supplying food animals and meat to Hong Kong will also be required to certify that their food animals and products have not used prohibited substances or contain excess chemical residues. The Government will also incorporate the same MRL safety standards into the Harmful Substances in Food Regulations of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance to facilitate enforcement against selling of meat containing excess chemical residues. The proposed legislation will provide sufficient power for government veterinary officers to collect samples to test for chemicals and for the Director of Agriculture Fisheries and Conservation to stop temporarily the importation and supply of contaminated food animals and animal feed, pending further investigation. Dr Sims noted that the controls on chemicals would be introduced in phases to allow time for farmers and related traders to adjust to it and AFCD planned to introduce controls on prohibited chemicals and antibiotics first. AFCD will conduct presentations on the proposed legislation to relevant parties, including livestock feed traders, local farmer groups and meat traders. Views will also be solicited from the Consumer Council, the District Councils and the general public. The consultation document is available on AFCD's website (http://www.info.gov.hk/afcd). Copies of the paper are also available from AFCD Headquarters (5th floor, Cheung Sha Wan Government Offices, 303 Cheung Sha Wan Road, Kowloon), AFCD's Yuen Long Extension Office (5th floor, Yuen Long Government Offices, 2 Kiu Lok Square, Yuen Long, New Territories) and the Government Publications Centres (Ground floor, Lower Block, Queensway Government Offices, 66 Queensway, Hong Kong or Room 408, 4th floor, Murray Building, Garden Road, Central, Hong Kong). All comments should forward to the Director, Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, 5th floor, Cheung Sha Wan Government Offices, 303 Cheung Sha Wan Road, Kowloon or AFCD's e-mail address afcdenq@afcd.gcn.gov.hk before November 15, 2000. |
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