The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (July 13) announced the results of a recently completed targeted food surveillance project on Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat food, which showed that all samples passed the test.
 
     The CFS collected a total of 500 samples of ready-to-eat food from different retail outlets, including online retailers, and food factories for testing of Listeria monocytogenes this year. The samples included various types of high-risk food, such as cheese, frozen confections, cold cuts, fruit, salad, sashimi, smoked salmon and other smoked seafood.
 
     "Listeria monocytogenes can be killed under normal cooking temperature. However, unlike other food poisoning bacteria, it can grow slowly at refrigerated temperature as low as 0 degrees Celsius. Therefore, refrigerated ready-to-eat food with a long shelf life (over five days) is a potential high-risk item for listeriosis," a spokesman for the CFS said.
 
     Listeriosis is usually caused by eating food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. Most healthy individuals do not develop symptoms or only have mild symptoms like fever, muscle pain, headache, nausea, vomiting or diarrhoea when infected. However, severe complications such as septicemia, meningitis or even death may occur in newborns, the elderly and those with a weaker immune system. Although infected pregnant women may just experience mild symptoms generally, the infection of Listeria monocytogenes may cause miscarriage, infant death, preterm birth, or severe infection in newborns.
 
     The spokesman reminded the public to maintain good personal and food hygiene to ensure food safety. To reduce the risk of listeriosis, those belonging to the high-risk groups, i.e. pregnant women, infants, the elderly, chronic disease patients and those with a weaker immune system, should avoid eating high-risk food, including refrigerated ready-to-eat food with a long shelf life (over five days) (such as smoked salmon, smoked ham and cooked deli meats), cheese made with unpasteurised milk (including soft and semi-soft cheese), and pre-made or prepackaged salads.
 
     The CFS will continue to promote food safety education to the public and other stakeholders through various channels to strengthen public knowledge on food safety. The Centre will also enhance communication with the food trade to raise food safety standards.

The following is issued on behalf of the Country and Marine Parks Board:

     The Country and Marine Parks Board will meet next Friday (July 20) and members of the public are welcome to attend as observers. Major items for discussion include:
 
* Public Engagement Exercise of the Task Force on Land Supply; and
* Consultancy Study on Enhancement of the Recreation and Education Potential of Country Parks and Special Areas – Conceptual Proposals.
 
     The meeting will be held in Room 701, 7/F, Cheung Sha Wan Government Offices, 303 Cheung Sha Wan Road, Kowloon, at 2.30pm.
 
     Members of the public interested in observing the meeting should contact the board secretary at 2150 6697 for seat reservation. Attendance will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.

     The Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene has ordered a light refreshment restaurant in Quarry Bay to suspend business for 14 days as the operator repeatedly breached the Food Business Regulation (FBR) by extending the business area illegally.
 
     The restaurant, Shun Nam Kitchen, located at shop 17 on the ground floor of Tak Lee Building, 993 King’s Road, Quarry Bay, was ordered to suspend business from today (July 13) to July 26.
 
     "In March and May this year, two convictions for the above-mentioned breach were recorded against the licensee of the restaurant. A total fine of $7,200 was levied by the court and 30 demerit points were registered against the licensee under the department's demerit points system. The contraventions resulted in the 14-day business suspension," a spokesman for the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) said.
 
     The licensee of the restaurant had a record of two convictions for the same offence in September and November last year. A total fine of $4,500 was levied and 30 demerit points were registered. The breaches led to business suspension for seven days in December last year.
 
     The spokesman reminded licensees of food premises to comply with the FBR or their licences could be suspended or cancelled.
 
     Licensed food premises are required to exhibit a sign, at a conspicuous place near the main entrance, indicating that the premises are licensed. A list of licensed food premises is available on the FEHD's website (www.fehd.gov.hk/english/licensing/index.html).
 

     The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) announced today (July 13) that Silver Mine Bay Beach and its ancillary facilities in Islands District will be reopened on July 18 (Wednesday) following the completion of an improvement works project. A newly built viewing deck adjacent to the beach will also be opened for public use from that day.

     The lifeguard services will resume upon the reopening of the beach.

     The beach was temporarily closed from November 21, 2016, to carry out the "Improvement Works at Silvermine Bay Beach, Mui Wo, Lantau Island" project under the Signature Project Scheme (Islands District).

     For enquiries, please call the Islands District Leisure Services Office at 2852 3220 or visit the LCSD website.

     The Education Bureau (EDB) today (July 13) reminded students who have completed online enrolment and on-site verification for the Scheme for Admission of Hong Kong Students to Mainland Higher Education Institutions (Admission Scheme) that they should log on to the designated website during the designated period from July 22 to 30 to check the admission results as well as submit and check the results of supplementary enrolment.

     The students concerned should log on to the website of the Education Examinations Authority of Guangdong Province (www.eeagd.edu.cn) (Chinese version only), choose "Admission of Hong Kong Students" under the "Application and Examination" menu, click "Hong Kong Students Admission (Student Login)", and then log in to the system of the 2018 Admission Scheme with their candidate numbers and passwords, so as to check whether they have been admitted by the institutions they have enrolled in. Institutions will release first-round admission results in batches in order of priority as follows:

1. Release of first priority admission results by institutions – 8pm on July 22;
2. Release of second priority admission results by institutions – 8pm on July 24;
3. Release of third priority admission results by institutions – 8pm on July 25; and
4. Release of fourth priority admission results by institutions – 8pm on July 26.

     Students who are not admitted during the first round but meet the minimum entrance requirements should complete supplementary enrolment through the admission system from 10am on July 27 to 3pm on July 28. During the supplementary enrolment stage, students can choose two institutions and for each institution make four programme choices. Students who have completed supplementary enrolment can log in to the admission system from July 29 to 30 to check whether they have been admitted by the institutions. Institutions will release supplementary enrolment results in batches in order of priority as follows:

1. Release of first priority supplementary enrolment results by institutions – 8pm on July 29; and
2. Release of second priority supplementary enrolment results by institutions – 8pm on July 30.

     Students who have been admitted during the first round or supplementary enrolment stage should receive an acceptance letter from their respective institutions by post before September 1. Students who have not received the acceptance letter by the said date may contact the relevant institutions directly for enquiry. Contact details of the student admission offices of the institutions are listed in the programme directory of the Admission Scheme for 2018 (Chinese version only) on the EDB's website (www.edb.gov.hk/expo17).