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 

• Pay attention to the sodium content in Chinese congee and choose carefully;
• Order congee cooked with plain congee base instead of seasoned congee base; 
• Pay attention to the amount of congee consumed. Consider sharing the congee when the portion is large; and
• Maintain a balanced diet with variety.

Advice to the trade 

• Reduce the sodium content of the congee base and that of congee with ingredient(s) through product reformulation by making reference to the CFS's "Trade Guidelines for Reducing Sodium in Foods" (www.cfs.gov.hk/tc_chi/programme/programme_nifl/files/Trade_Guidelines_for_Reducing_Sodium_in_Foods.pdf); 
• Be aware of the sodium content of Chinese congee on sale as it has public health implications; 
• Provide the choice of plain congee with little or no seasoning added as the base for cooking congee with ingredient(s); and
• Apart from providing the standard portion size of congee, offer congee in smaller portion size for consumers to choose based on their needs.

     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 featuring the Hong Kong Police Force.
      
     The store is located at the main entrance of the old Yau Ma Tei Police Station, 627 Canton Road, Yau Ma Tei. Starting from tomorrow, it will be open from 2pm to 5pm every Saturday, until May 25, 2024. Featuring a wide selection of popular souvenir items, the collection includes police bear toys, notebooks, folders, magnets, keychains and clothing. Members of the public are welcome.
      
     The Chief Superintendent of Police Personnel Services and Staff Relations Branch (Personnel Wing), Mr Lee Chung-wah said, “Apart from the online shop and physical stores at the Hong Kong Police Headquarters and the Police Sports and Recreation Club, a pop-up store set up at the old Yau Ma Tei Police Station will further facilitate members of the public and tourists to purchase gifts of their choice in person.”
      
     Designated as a Grade 2 historic building, the old Yau Ma Tei Police Station has fulfilled its duty of safeguarding the community for more than a century, fostering a strong bond with the public. In recent years, it has also emerged as a cherished landmark which attracts members of the public, as well as tourists from far and wide to take photos there.
 

      

     â€‹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 pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in Goheung-gun of Jeollanam-do Province in Korea, the CFS has instructed the trade to suspend the import of poultry meat and products (including poultry eggs) from the area with immediate effect to protect public health in Hong Kong.

     A CFS spokesman said that according to the Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong imported about 50 tonnes of chilled and frozen poultry meat and about 23.85 million poultry eggs from Korea in the first nine months of this year.

     "The CFS has contacted the Korean authority over the issue and will closely monitor information issued by the WOAH and the relevant authorities on the avian influenza outbreak. Appropriate action will be taken in response to the development of the situation," the spokesman said.

     The Government published in the Gazette today (December 8) the Nurses Registration (Amendment) Bill 2023 (the Bill) to amend the Nurses Registration Ordinance (Cap. 164) (the Ordinance) and its subsidiary legislation. 

     The Bill aims at creating new pathways for admitting eligible non-locally trained nurses to alleviate the shortage of nurses in the public healthcare system and the social welfare sector. In addition, the Bill will make continuing nursing education a mandatory requirement for nursing practice of all registered nurses and enrolled nurses to enhance the professional competency of nurses. The Bill will also make technical amendments to bring the regulatory regime of nurses up to date. 

     The proposed new pathways for admitting non-locally trained nurses to practise in Hong Kong include:

 (a) Limited registration/enrolment: admitting non-locally trained nurses who are capable of serving in specified settings in the public healthcare sector (i.e. the Department of Health (DH) and the Hospital Authority (HA)) and the social welfare sector (including residential care homes (RCHs) for the elderly and RCHs for persons with disabilities as well as other social welfare service units/organisations specified by the Director of Social Welfare) to meet the service demand. Nurses under limited registration/enrolment cannot migrate to full registration/enrolment;

(b) Special registration/enrolment: admitting non-locally trained nurses who are capable of serving in various clinical settings in the clinics and hospitals under the DH and the HA, and have the potential to formally join the local nursing profession. For nurses under special registration/enrolment employed on a full-time basis for a certain period and assessed by their employing institutions to have performed satisfactorily and competently, they will be eligible to migrate to full registration/enrolment without having to take the Licensing Examination; and 

(c) Temporary registration/enrolment: enabling nurses from other jurisdictions to perform short-term academic exchanges and clinical demonstrations in Hong Kong for no more than 14 days. Nurses under temporary registration/enrolment cannot migrate to full registration/enrolment.

     A spokesman for the Health Bureau said, "As it takes time to train local nurses, we need to tap non-local manpower sources as far as possible to address the pressing manpower problem.

     "The admission of non-locally trained healthcare professionals is premised on the condition of not compromising the professional standards. Non-locally trained nurses who are going to practise in Hong Kong under limited registration/enrolment or special registration/enrolment must possess a qualification that is broadly comparable to any recognised local nursing training programme and must be qualified as a practising nurse in their place of origin with relevant nursing or clinical work experience. The Nursing Council of Hong Kong will process applications in strict accordance with the relevant criteria to ensure that the applicants meet certain professional standards."

     The Government conducted a consultation from March to June this year by reaching out to over 80 organisations and groups of the medical and healthcare as well as social welfare sectors. The Legislative Council (LegCo) Panel on Health Services was also consulted on March 10. The proposal was supported by the sectors and LegCo members.

     The Bill will be introduced into the LegCo for scrutiny on December 13.