The National Security Department of the Hong Kong Police Force conducted an enforcement operation this morning (December 8) and arrested a 77-year-old man in Cheung Sha Wan, for being suspected of “attempting to do o… read more
The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (December 8) released the study results on the sodium content in Chinese congee. Although none of the samples were considered “high” in sodium (i.e. over 600 milligrams/100 grams), the sodium intake from consuming certain types of congee may approach the World Health Organization (WHO)’s recommended daily intake upper limit due to the considerable volume consumed.
A total of 174 relatively common non-prepackaged food samples, covering 12 types of Chinese congee with ingredients (117 samples), and individual plain congee (24 samples) and seasoned congee (plain congee with seasoning) (33 samples) which were available to consumers as a choice of congee base for cooking, were collected from Chinese restaurants, fast food restaurants and congee shops for analysis of their sodium content by the Food Research Laboratory of the CFS.
Results showed that the average sodium content for the various samples of congee with ingredients was 270mg/100g, and the sodium content ranged from 33mg/100g to 460mg/100g. The congee types with the highest average sodium content were congee with pig’s liver (330mg/100g), congee with chicken (300mg/100g), congee with pig giblets (290mg/100g) and congee with preserved egg and pork (290mg/100g).
There were two types of congee with vegetables as major ingredients, namely congee with sweet corn (average sodium content is 180mg/100g) and congee with pumpkin (average sodium content is 220mg/100g), which had lower average sodium content among the various types of Chinese congee with ingredient(s). Among the 10 types of Chinese congee with non-vegetarian ingredients, congee with fish was found to have the lowest average sodium content of 220mg/100g.
The study also showed that there was a large variation in the sodium content among samples of the same types of certain congee sold at different restaurants and congee shops, which revealed the possibility for the trade to draw reference from other counterparts’ practices to reduce the sodium content in these types of congee. The sodium content of plain congee base was much lower than that of seasoned congee base, indicating that the sodium intake from the consumption of congee can be lowered by choosing plain congee as the congee base instead of seasoned congee, particularly for congee with ingredient(s).
A spokesman for the CFS said that excessive sodium intake is closely related to hypertension, which is a risk factor for non-communicable diseases including cardiovascular diseases and stroke. The WHO recommends a daily salt intake of less than 5g (i.e. 2 000mg of sodium) for adults.
Advice to the public
The Police Souvenir Gallery Pop-up Store will be set up at the old Yau Ma Tei Police Station every Saturday from tomorrow (December 9) to strengthen ties with the public and tourists through a variety of souvenirs featurin… read more
​Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) announced today (December 8) that one of its assisted companies, UK-based content production network Casual, has expanded in Asia by setting up its first Asian office in Hong Kong, leveraging the city’s strategic location to tap into the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) and Asian market.
The department welcomed the company’s landing in Hong Kong. The Associate Director-General of Investment Promotion, Dr Jimmy Chiang, said, “Hong Kong is not only situated in the heart of Asia, but is also on the doorstep of Mainland China and part of the GBA. We are happy to see that Casual leverage the city’s business advantages to expand in the region.”
Dr Chiang added, “Hong Kong as an international business hub is home to many multinational companies, generating genuine demand for content production services from corporates and marketers. The city is an ideal place for Casual to serve its clients in the region.”
The Founder and CEO of Casual, Mr Nick Francis, said that the company acquired long-standing Hong Kong content strategy and production agency APV last year, and rebranded it as Casual operating in a new office in Hong Kong with new facilities and equipment and an expanded team. He said, “They represent not just our brand, but our confidence in Hong Kong as a hub for Asia and doing business in the Asia-Pacific.”
He added, “We have worked in Hong Kong a number of times over the past 10 years and so have knowledge of the market. A significant proportion of our work is with business services and financial firms, many of which have offices in Hong Kong. The city is also multilingual with a strong English-speaking business community and as such is easier than many other regions in Asia for us to operate in, while giving us a foothold for further expansion throughout the Asia-Pacific and into Mainland China.”
He explained, “From our extensive market research into Hong Kong and surrounding regions, we found that the business and local capability would serve our plan for growth, not just within Hong Kong but also the GBA and Asia as a whole. As we operate in a truly global marketplace, Hong Kong also acts as the perfect connector between our offices in Australia, Europe and the United States, offering us wider coverage and ease of accessibility for our global clients.”
To get a copy of the photo, please visit www.flickr.com/photos/investhk/albums/72177720313211828.
For more information about Casual, please visit www.casualfilms.com.
The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (December 8) that in view of a notification from the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) about an outbreak of highly… read more