The Commissioner of Customs and Excise, Ms Louise Ho, attended the Passing-out Parade for the 140th-143rd Inspector Induction Courses and the 496th-501st Customs Officer Induction Courses at the Hong Kong Customs College today (December 17) to inspect 70 Probationary Inspectors and 115 Probationary Customs Officers on parade.

     The Guards of Honour and all passing-out officers adopted the Chinese-style foot drill to form one big and two small patterns of giant pandas, representing the giant pandas gifted by the Central Government and the first giant panda twins born in Hong Kong. Next, they formed the pattern of a rocket and an astronaut in celebration of the successful launch of the Shenzhou-19 manned spaceflight mission. This arrangement demonstrated Hong Kong Customs' patriotic feeling and affection for the country and Hong Kong.
      
     Speaking at the passing-out parade, Ms Ho said Customs is committed to leveraging Hong Kong's distinctive advantages of enjoying strong support of the motherland while being closely connected to the world under "one country, two systems". The department actively enhances international and regional collaborations by developing Belt and Road partnerships in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa to consolidate Hong Kong's international status and give full play to its role as the bridge between the Mainland and the rest of the world.

     She added that Customs dares to play a more significant role in the international arena. With the support of the Central Government and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, Hong Kong Customs represented Hong Kong, China to assume the position of the Vice-Chairperson for the Asia/Pacific region of the World Customs Organization in July this year for a term of two years, shouldering the responsibilities of driving and co-ordinating regional development and affairs, leading members to cope with challenges, formulating strategies to address issues of common concern and charting the way forward. Hong Kong Customs spares no effort in fulfilling the leadership role and strengthening Hong Kong's roles as the "super-connector" and the bridgehead to to enhance the country's and Hong Kong's international voice and influence.

     Ms Ho encouraged the passing-out officers to fully achieve Hong Kong Customs' goal of creating "a new chapter of Asia-Pacific customs collaboration" by providing quality and diversified Customs services to make contributions to the country and Hong Kong.

                

     The Inter-departmental Counter Terrorism Unit (ICTU) coordinated a large-scale inter-departmental counter-terrorism (CT) exercise codenamed "WISDOMLIGHT" at the Youth Sports Ground in the Kai Tak Sports Park (KTSP) today (December 17).

     In addition to the six member departments of ICTU — namely the Hong Kong Police Force, Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department, Correctional Services Department, Fire Services Department, Government Flying Service, and Immigration Department, personnel from the Civil Aid Service, the Government Laboratory, the Hospital Authority, as well as KTSP Limited also actively supported and participated in the exercise.

     At the media session, Police Senior Superintendent of ICTU, Mr Leung Wai-ki, said that the global terrorism situation remained complex and continued to evolve. Both religious extremism and far-right extremism, along with geopolitical tensions in recent years, posed challenges for CT work around the world, including Hong Kong. Past attacks have suggested that major events and mass gatherings could be the potential targets of terrorists.

     To ensure that Hong Kong had adequate CT preparations and response capabilities, ICTU and its member departments held CT exercises at different locations on a regular basis in response to the latest terrorism situation. As Hong Kong’s newly-built critical infrastructure with major sports facilities, the KTSP carried a significant symbolic meaning. Although there was no intelligence suggesting that it would be a target of attack, departments must make every CT preparation to ensure that events would be held at the venues in a safe and smooth manner. Hence, ICTU conducted this exercise to enhance the coordination and response capabilities of various departments in dealing with terrorism-related intelligence and responding to different forms of terrorist attacks.

     The exercise simulated a scenario that extremists launched a knife and shooting attack at the start of a sports event, with a suspected improvised explosive device discovered in the venue.

     The exercise also invited ten community groups from different sectors and age groups to voluntarily participate, with a view to further promoting the "Whole-of-Community" approach in CT. It also reminded the public to pay more attention to suspicious circumstances in daily life and apply the advisory of "Run, Hide, Report" to protect themselves and the people around them in the event of emergency.

     Mr Leung stressed that ICTU would regularise and standardise CT exercises and continue to identify appropriate venues for the coordination of large-scale inter-departmental CT exercises in the future. ICTU would also coordinate with other government departments and public and private organisations, as well as inviting citizens and community organisations to participate in these exercises, in order to further enhance Hong Kong’s overall terrorism prevention and CT response capabilities to ensure community safety.

                      

     The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is today (December 17) investigating two epidemiologically linked food poisoning clusters affecting 41 persons, and reminded the public to take appropriate measures to safeguard food safety and prevent foodborne diseases when patronising catering services.
      
     The first cluster involved one male and 11 females aged between 20 and 50, who developed abdominal pain and diarrhoea about two to 15 hours after consuming catering food bought from Cateraway, a food factory in Kwun Tong, on the night of December 13.
      
     The other cluster involved seven males and 22 females, aged between 5 and 77, who developed the same symptoms about three to 18 hours after consuming catering food bought from the same food factory on the same day.
      
     Among the 41 affected persons, one of them sought medical advice. None required hospitalisation.
      
     Initial investigations by the CHP revealed that the affected persons had consumed common foods, and the foods concerned were scallop and seafood pizza with thousand island dressing, spaghetti with mentaiko cuttlefish in creamy chili sauce and food items with black truffles sauce. The incident might have been caused by clostridium perfringens.
      
     Personnel from the CHP and the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department have conducted an inspection at the restaurant, took food samples for testing, and instructed the premises concerned to suspend business and the sale of relevant food, carry out cleaning and disinfection of the premises, as well as improve food preparation process. The officers have also provided health education related to food safety and environmental hygiene to the staff of the premises. The officers initially suspected that the food concerned was prepared too early in advance and was stored under improper temperatures.

     The CHP and CFS's investigation is ongoing and it cannot rule out that the number of cases will increase.

     A spokesman for the CHP said that with the festivals approaching, many people would choose to patronise catering services. To ensure food safety and prevent foodborne illnesses, members of the public should pay attention to the following key tips:
      

• Choose reputable licensed caterers to ensure food quality and safety;
• Arrange for reasonable delivery times, e.g. require catered food to be delivered one hour before serving to maintain optimal temperatures;
• Keep hot food above 60 degrees Celsius and cold food below 4 degrees Celsius. Check food for signs of spoilage, such as unusual odors or changes in texture;
• Handle leftovers properly. Refrigerate leftovers within two hours of serving and make sure the food is adequately reheated again before serving;
• Recognise symptoms of food poisoning, such as abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and fever, and seek medical attention if the above symptoms occur.

     Furthermore, to prevent foodborne diseases, members of the public are reminded to maintain personal, food and environmental hygiene at all times. When dining out:
 

• For dishes that often use lightly cooked or uncooked eggs, choose pasteurised eggs, egg products or dried egg powder;
• Patronise only reliable and licensed restaurants;
• Avoid eating raw seafood;
• Be a discerning consumer in choosing cold dishes, including sashimi, sushi and raw oysters, at a buffet;
• Pre-cooked or leftover foods should be stored and reheated properly before consumption;
• Ensure food is thoroughly cooked before eating during a hotpot or barbecue meal;
• Handle raw and cooked foods carefully and separate them completely during the cooking process;
• Use two sets of chopsticks and utensils to handle raw and cooked foods;
• Do not patronise illegal food hawkers;
• Drink boiled water;
• Do not try to use salt, vinegar, wine or wasabi to kill bacteria as they are not effective; and
• Always wash hands before eating and after going to the toilet.

     The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (December 17) instructed the trade to suspend the import of raw oysters harvested in area 17.C.11 in France. The trade should also stop using or selling the product concerned immediately should they possess it.

     â€‹A spokesman for the CFS said, "The CFS was notified by the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health of seven food poisoning cases which involved consumption of raw oysters at different restaurants. The CFS conducted investigations at the restaurants concerned and found that the restaurants concerned had sold raw oysters which had been harvested in area 17.C.11 in France. For the sake of prudence, the CFS has immediately instructed the trade to suspend the import into and sale within Hong Kong of all raw oysters harvested in area 17.C.11 in France."

     â€‹The CFS has also instructed the suppliers and restaurants concerned to stop supplying and selling the affected raw oysters immediately, and is tracing the distribution of the affected product. The trade should also stop using or selling the product concerned immediately should they possess it.

     The spokesman pointed out that as oysters feed by filtering a large volume of seawater, pathogens can accumulate in them if they are grown in or harvested from contaminated water. Raw or partially cooked oysters are high-risk foods. Susceptible groups, such as pregnant women, young children, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems or liver diseases, should avoid eating raw oysters.

     â€‹The CFS will inform the French authorities and will also notify the local trade. It will continue to follow up on the incident and take appropriate action to safeguard food safety and public health. An investigation is ongoing.

     The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (December 17) urged the public not to consume a batch of prepackaged pistachio cream product imported from Germany due to possible contamination with aflatoxin. The trade should stop using or selling the affected batch of the product immediately if they possess it.

     â€‹Product details are as follows:

Product name: Pistacchio Kerman Paste
Brand: Cresco Italia
Place of origin: Germany
Net weight: Three kilograms
Use-by date: December 31, 2025
Batch number: 204759065-01
Importer: JJ Global Sourcing Limited
     
     A spokesman for the CFS said, "The CFS received a notification from the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed of the European Commission, the above-mentioned product is being recalled as it contained aflatoxin B1 exceeding the EU's standard. Upon learning of the incident, the CFS immediately contacted local importers for follow-up and a preliminary investigation found that the above-mentioned importer had imported into Hong Kong the affected batch of the product. The aflatoxin level of the product also exceeded the local legal standard."

     The importer has stopped selling and removed from shelves the affected batch of the product upon the CFS's instructions and has initiated a recall. Members of the public may call the hotline of the importer concerned at 2190 2125 during office hours for enquiries about the recall.

     The World Health Organization (WHO)'s International Agency for Research on Cancer classified naturally occurring aflatoxins as carcinogenic to humans, and the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives advised that intake of aflatoxins should be reduced to levels as low as reasonably possible although no health-based guidance value has been set. Aflatoxins can lead to liver cancer after long-term ingestion, and the risk for hepatitis B carriers is relatively high.

     The CFS will alert the trade to the incident, and will continue to follow up and take appropriate action. The investigation is ongoing.