The Centre for Food Safety (CFS), established in 2006, is tasked to enhance food safety regulation, in order to raise public confidence in food safety. It comprises four divisions: Risk Management Division, Risk Assessment and Communication Division, Corporate and System Management Division and Centre Administration Division.
The Risk Management Division is the operational arm responsible for food safety assurance. Its duties include food surveillance, enforcement, management of food incidents (including investigation of food poisoning outbreaks at food premises), food import control and export certification, as well as conducting inspections and tests on live food animals. The Risk Assessment and Communication Division is the research and development arm responsible for conducting risk assessment, advising on food standards and providing food safety information to the public as well as the food industry. The Corporate and System Management Division is responsible for formulating long term strategies for information technology-enabled business transformation and mapping out strategic proposals on re-engineering business processes, operational procedures and information management, with a view to developing computerised systems that can better support data analysis and risk profiling. The Centre Administration Division provides administrative support to the Centre.
Safety Control of Imported Food
As most of our food comes from outside Hong Kong, import control is an important part of the CFS' work.
The control process - comprising a pre-entry assurance system, verification of health documents and surveillance at import control points - mainly applies to certain categories of high-risk food, such as game, meat, poultry, eggs, milk and frozen confections.
Statistics on Imported Food in 2021
| Applications approved for import licence for frozen/ chilled meat and poultry | 76,993 |
| Applications approved for import permission for game, meat, poultry and eggs | 1,394 |
| Applications approved for import permission for milk and milk products | 420 |
| Applications approved for import permission for frozen confections | 496 |
| Targeted inspections of food trucks at food control points | 12,000 |
Part of the day-to-day task of ensuring food safety involves close liaison with consulates, the Mainland and overseas food authorities, importers, the Customs and Excise Department and other relevant organisations.
Testing of imported frozen foods for the COVID-19 virus
As part of the Government's overall strategy to prevent the importation of COVID-19 virus through imported frozen foods, the CFS has been collecting samples of different types of frozen foods and their packaging at the import level for precautionary COVID-19 testing since mid-2020. As at the end of 2021, over 25 000 samples of imported frozen foods and their packaging from 60 countries / regions had been taken for testing.
Import control measures on Japanese food
The CFS is imposing import control measures on Japanese food. According to the Variation of Food Safety Order, vegetables, fruits, milk, milk beverages and dried milk from the four prefectures, namely Ibaraki, Tochigi, Chiba and Gunma, must be accompanied with radiation certificates issued by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) of Japan which will show the prefecture that the products come from and attest that the radiation levels of the products do not exceed the guideline levels of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex). The exporter concerned must also hold and produce a valid exporter certificate issued by the MAFF to certify that those food products exported to Hong Kong are readily available for sale in Japan (i.e. the radiation levels of the food products comply with the Japanese levels which are more stringent than the Codex guideline levels) and are fit for human consumption as far as radiological protection is concerned. The import ban on the abovementioned products from Fukushima remains in force.
Subsequent to the promulgation of Policy Address 2020 by the Chief Executive on 25 November 2020, radiation testing against every consignment of imported Japanese food has ceased since 1 January 2021, and the testing is subsumed under the routine annual food surveillance programme of the CFS based on risk assessment for better trade facilitation while ensuring food safety.
Food Surveillance and Handling Food Complaints
Continuous monitoring, testing and law enforcement are keys to ensuring the safety of Hong Kong's food supplies. Food samples are tested at every stage in the supply process: from import and manufacture to wholesale and retail.
During the year, about 66,300 samples of food were tested, which is about nine samples for every 1,000 people in Hong Kong.
Food samples undergo microbiological examinations, chemical analyses and radiation level tests to assess their conformity to legal standards and labelling requirements.
The Man Kam To Food Laboratory provides expeditious and comprehensive testing services, for fresh produce imported from the Mainland. The testing services are:
- Analysis of pesticide residues in fresh vegetables and fruits. The tests cover isocarbophos, methamidophos and other organophosphorous pesticides, N-methyl carbamates and pyrethroids.
- Analysis of veterinary drug residues and melamine in raw milk. The tests cover aminoglycosides, beta-lactams, chloramphenicol, ceftiofur, lincomycin, macrolides, polypeptides, quinolones, sulfonamides, synthetic hormones, tetracyclines and trimethoprim.
Enforcement actions are taken against unsatisfactory surveillance results. Apart from assessing the risk of specific foods and formulating food safety strategies, the CFS also reviews and analyses regularly data collected through the Food Surveillance Programme for its topical studies.
In 2021, a total of 5,260 food complaints were handled.
Statistics on the Food Surveillance Programme in 2021
(A) Testing of food samples
| Testing | Number# | Percentage# |
|---|---|---|
| Chemical | ||
| Test conducted | 46,184 | - |
| Satisfactory | 46,108 | 99.8% |
| Microbiological | ||
| Test conducted | 15,667 | - |
| Satisfactory | 15,645 | 99.9% |
| Radiation level | ||
| Test conducted | 4,498 | - |
| Satisfactory | 4,498 | 100% |
# Excluding 9,452 samples of imported Japanese food tested for radiation level in 2021.
(B) Enforcement of food labelling
| Food labels inspected | 55,196 |
| Prosecutions taken out | 72 |
Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Programme on Food
The Government launched the "Hong Kong Strategy and Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (2017-2022)" (Action Plan) to provide a list of actions and activities to contain the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Hong Kong. The CFS completed a pilot survey in 2021. Results of the pilot survey revealed that: extended spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae were detected in 79.8% of 851 raw meat samples and 13.8% of 304 Ready-to-eat food samples; carbapenem-resistant organisms (including Enterobacteriaceae, Acinetobacter and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) were detected in 11.5% of the raw meat samples and 1.6% of the Ready-to-eat food samples; and Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus was not detected in any of the food samples. The results had been uploaded to the website of the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health for public information.
Management of Food Incidents
The CFS monitors food incidents, both local and overseas, on a daily basis. Around 2,200 food incidents were identified from the Food Incident Surveillance System (FISS) in 2021. The CFS will consider factors such as risk to consumers, local regulations and availability of the concerned food product to decide on the most appropriate risk management actions.
Besides, the CFS will communicate with related health authorities, importers, distributors and retailers on the food incidents. If necessary, the CFS will take actions such as requesting the trade to stop sale, conducting tests as and when appropriate, warning the trade concerned and direct recall of the products in question. The CFS will issue rapid alert to traders and inform them of the latest situation. It will also issue press releases to give advice to consumers if the food incidents are of public health concern to the local population. "Food Incident Post" might also be issued on the CFS website if it is anticipated that related food products might be acquired through e-trade, travel, or other personal channels. A total of 93 trade alerts, 68 press releases on food incidents and 196 food incident posts were issued by the CFS in 2021.
Staffed by doctors and nurses, the Food Incidents Response and Management Unit of the Risk Management Section, in collaboration with the Centre for Health Protection, investigates outbreaks of food poisoning and food-borne infectious diseases at food premises, identifies the contributing factors and assists in tracing the sources of suspected food. The unit also educates the food handlers about food, personal and environmental hygiene. A total of 241 visits cum investigations to food premises involved in food incidents were carried out by the unit in 2021. The most commonly implicated causative agents in food poisoning outbreaks related to food premises were Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Norovirus, Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus. The three most frequently identified contributing factors in descending order were contamination by raw food, raw food consumed and inadequate cooking.
Implementation of Food Safety Ordinance
The Food Safety Ordinance (Chapter 612) (the Ordinance), provides for a food tracing mechanism to help the Government trace the source of the food more effectively and take prompt action when dealing with food incidents. Food importers and distributors, other than those who have already registered or obtained a licence under other ordinances listed at Schedule 1 to the Ordinance, have to register with the Department. By the end of 2021, there were 10,775 registered food importers and 8,853 registered food distributors. The Ordinance also provides power for the Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene to make food safety orders to prohibit the import and supply of problem food and order the recall of such food.
Food Trader Portal
The CFS uses IT to better support the work of its frontline staff, reinforce its capability in food import control and facilitate the trade. For this reason, the Corporate and System Management Division is developing the Food Trader Portal (FTP) in phases, starting with the launch of the trader registration module in December 2019, which allows food traders to open FTP user accounts to receive food safety and import control notifications electronically and perform tasks online such as trader registration, renewal of registration and updating of trader information.
Since December 2019, the CFS has been rolling out different online services to expand the functions of the FTP. All import-related functions were fully implemented in May 2021. In addition to trader registration and renewal, the service scope of the FTP now covers applications for all import licences and import permissions issued by the CFS, as well as handling of the arrival reporting and release of consignments of meat, poultry, game, eggs, milk, and frozen confections and consignments imported by air containing other food types.
Food Safety Control of Live Food Animals
The Veterinary Public Health Section (VPHS) and the Slaughterhouse (Veterinary) Section are mainly responsible for import control and conducting disease surveillance programmes on live food animals with public health significance.
Implementing the concept of "from farm to table", veterinary staff members visit registered farms exporting to Hong Kong to understand their husbandry practices. In 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, VPHS used questionnaires as an alternative to survey the latest situations of 62 Mainland registered and associated farms. These included farms of poultry, pigs, cattle, goat and aquatic food animals.
Number of local and imported food animals inspected in 2021
| Type of animal | No. of animals inspected (inspected in slaughterhouse) | No. of animal health certificates verified |
|---|---|---|
| Pigs |
901,716 |
21,248 health certificates and 10,225 admission forms for local pigs |
| Cattle |
13,500 |
1,401 health certificates |
| Goats |
1,730 |
16 health certificates |
The Public Health (Animals and Birds) (Chemical Residues) Regulation prohibits the use of certain chemicals, including clenbuterol, and restricts the residue levels of a number of chemicals in food animals. In 2021, 30,131 samples were collected from food animals for testing of veterinary drug residues. During the same period, no pig urine sample was tested positive for prohibited chemicals. Two tissue samples were tested positive for restricted chemicals.
The Quarantine Detector Dog Unit assists in interdicting illegal import of raw meat and eggs at all land boundary control points. These are hand-carried by inbound passengers and brought in by trucks. The unit serves to safeguard public health by preventing the import of meat and eggs from unknown sources into Hong Kong, as they may contain contagious and zoonotic pathogens such as E. coli O157 and avian influenza. There are seven quarantine detector dogs in the unit.
For the export of food products of animal origin, 1,521 veterinary health certificates were issued in 2021. They covered products such as chicken powder, ice cream, mooncakes, Chinese dim sum, milk beverages, instant noodle, meat poultry and aquatic products, which were exported to the Mainland, Macao, Australia, Belgium, Canada, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Singapore, UK and USA.
Risk Assessment
In a risk-based food safety control model, risk assessment forms the scientific basis of risk management and risk communication. It includes systematic estimation and evaluation of the likelihood and severity of the adverse health effects resulting from exposure to food-borne hazards based on the best available scientific evidence. A typical risk assessment consists of four steps - hazard identification, hazard characterisation, exposure assessment and risk characterisation.
The CFS' risk assessment work mainly consists of researches, projects and literature studies. In addition, food safety incidents and issues, both inside and outside Hong Kong, are monitored and assessed on a daily basis. These allow the CFS to respond promptly and proactively in order to protect the public from health hazards.
Risk Assessment Projects
During 2021, the CFS released the results of several risk assessment projects, namely: "Hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDD) in Food", "Ergot alkaloids (EAs) in Food", "Microbiological Quality of Roast Meats when They are Kept at Ambient Temperature for a Prolonged Period of Time" and "Sodium, Sugar, Fat and Energy Contents in Local Vegetarian Dishes" (this project was conducted jointly with the Consumer Council).
Food Consumption Survey
Information on food consumption, such as the types and amount of food consumed by the Hong Kong population, is crucial for local food safety risk assessment. The CFS had completed the Second Hong Kong Population-based Food Consumption Survey which updated the food consumption data of local population aged 18 or above. The survey report was published on the CFS website and food consumption data in the report were uploaded to data.gov.hk. In July, the CFS also commenced another food consumption survey for the younger population covering primary and secondary school students.
Nutrition Labelling
In order to help the trade and laboratory service providers understand and comply with the nutrition labelling requirements under the Food and Drugs (Composition and Labelling) Regulations (Cap 132W), the CFS provides online resources (including technical guidance notes, trade guidelines, frequently asked questions, Nutrition Label Calculator, etc.), telephone hotline and helpdesk service to traders. The CFS also organises publicity programmes relating to nutrition labels for various sectors of the community using different means including the social media platform.
To better protect the health of infants and young children under the age of 36 months, and to facilitate effective regulation of nutrition and health claims for formula products and prepackaged food for infants and young children, the Government is reviewing the regulatory approach for these claims, taking into account views expressed by the trade, the latest international guidelines, the regulatory approach of other jurisdictions, as well as Hong Kong’s obligations in agreements under the World Trade Organization.
Nutrient Information Inquiry System
The Nutrient Information Inquiry System (NIIS) is a web-based database containing nutrient information (including energy and some 20 nutrients) on over 7,600 food items which are of relevance and interest to the local community. It is available free of charge, and has two functions: a Food Nutrient Finder (for people who want to browse and search for information about a specific food or nutrient) and a Food Nutrient Calculator (for people who want to estimate the nutrient intake from selected foods using the available data from NIIS). The information provided is for personal non-commercial use, to help people make healthy food choices.
Food Standards
Setting food standards is an integral part of risk management in food safety. In setting new local food standards, the CFS takes reference from international food standards established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission, scientific evaluations performed by internationally recognised authorities such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations/ WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) and the Joint FAO/ WHO Meeting on Pesticide Residues (JMPR), as well as practices in other jurisdictions.
The Harmful Substances in Food (Amendment) Regulation 2021 (the Amendment Regulation) was published in the Gazette on 11 June and passed by the Legislative Council (LegCo) in July. The Amendment Regulation strengthens the regulation of harmful substances such as mycotoxins in food, and specifies partially hydrogenated oil (PHO), i.e. the main source of industrially produced trans fatty acids (IP-TFAs), as a prohibited substance in food. The relevant provisions on PHO will come into operation on 1 December 2023 while all other provisions stipulating the maximum levels of other harmful substances in food will come into operation on 1 June 2023. The consumption of IP-TFAs from PHOs is harmful to health and contributes significantly to an increased risk of coronary heart disease. The banning on PHO in the local food supply thus marks an important step in protecting public health, allows Hong Kong to meet the World Health Organization’s goal of eliminating IP-TFAs from the global food supply by 2023, and is in line with one of the key measures under "Towards 2025: Strategy and Action Plan to Prevent and Control Non-communicable Disease in Hong Kong".
Along with the above-mentioned Amendment Regulation, the Food and Drugs (Composition and Labelling) (Amendment) Regulation 2021 was also published in the Gazette on 11 June, passed by the LegCo in July and will take effect on 1 December 2023. It stipulates that any prepackaged food containing hydrogenated oils, e.g. fully hydrogenated oil, must be indicated accordingly in the list of ingredients.
Risk Communication
Effective communication with stakeholders, as well as tripartite collaboration among the food trade, the public and the Government, are vital in upholding food safety in Hong Kong. There is a dedicated Communication Resource Unit (CRU) under the CFS to provide information on food safety risks to the public and the food trade. During the year, apart from making available on loan teaching kits, exhibition boards and audio-visual resources, the CRU also conducted 142 educational talks and 46 roving exhibitions.
The CFS has been disseminating information on food safety and health through the social media such as Facebook and YouTube. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the CFS made use of online platforms and virtual meetings to carry on with its risk communication activities. For example, an online seminar on the food safety and nutrition of lunch boxes was held for school heads, teachers and parents right before the beginning of the 2021/2022 school year, and a 'Foodsafe Movie Channel'(食安電影頻道) was set up on social media to promote food safety.
Other publicity activities during the year included the collaboration with the Department of Health to deliver food safety talks to staff of residential homes for the elderly and the disabled; the year-round Food Safety Day campaign kick-started in early June with "Know your high-risk foods" as the theme to echo the World Food Safety Day; the release of test results on ready-to-eat food and enforcement data on 20 July, with a view to raising public awareness of the food safety risks of undercooked foods; and the launch of the second phase of the "Less Sugar Friday" campaign in September in collaboration with the Food and Health Bureau (FHB) under the "Hong Kong's Action on Salt and Sugar Reduction" programme to promote a low-sugar dietary culture.
In parallel, the Risk Communication Section has also put in place a range of mechanisms to keep the public and the trade informed of food safety issues in a timely and proactive manner. Examples are the "Rapid Alert System" that can promptly deliver messages to the food trade explaining food incidents, the monthly electronic publication "Food Safety Focus" posted on the CFS website and the quarterly publications, as well as "Food Safety Bulletin" and "Food Safety Express" which target the general public and the trade respectively.
Summary of Risk Communication Activities in 2021
| Item | 2021 figures |
|---|---|
| No. of educational/publicity programmes organised | 11 |
| No. of resource materials produced | 45 |
| Total attendance at public education/communication activities | 59,465 |
| No. of public enquiries handled | 4,252 |
| No. of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) seminars/workshops | 33 |
| No. of followers/subscribers on CFS' social media platforms | 23,873 |
| No. of e-news issued | 24 |
| Seasonal Food Surveillance |
|---|
| Lunar New Year food |
| Rice Dumplings |
| Mooncakes |
| Hairy Crabs |
| Lap-Mei |
| Poon Choi |
| Targeted Food Surveillance |
|---|
| Summer Food Surveillance (including Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Salmonella, Coagulase-positive staphylococci organisms, Listeria monocytogenes, Bacillus cereus and Clostridium perfringens in Ready-to-eat Food) |
| Sulphur dioxide in meat |
The CFS devised promotional programmes for specific trade sectors, including "poon choi" suppliers, caterers for elderly homes, schools and child-care centres, and food premises selling siu mei, supplying lunch boxes, sushi, sashimi, raw oyster, meat to be eaten raw and frozen confections. Workshops and seminars are organised for the staff and training materials including the "Trade Guidelines on Safe Preparation of Beef Burgers" are provided.
World Health Organization Collaborating Centre
Since October 2010, the CFS has been designated as a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre (WHOCC) for Risk Analysis of Chemicals in Food. During the year, the CFS continues to contribute to the WHO's work on public health, especially in relation to food safety in the region, and supports WHO's activities in the designated areas.
Pest Control
The FEHD is the Government's adviser on pest control matters, and is responsible for handling problems of pests affecting public health. In meeting this goal, the Department adopts an integrated approach, putting equal emphasis on the effective use of pesticides and continuous improvements in environmental hygiene. It regularly updates its control methodologies and technologies, making reference to the latest recommendations of the WHO. The Department works closely with the pest control trade, and exchanges views with them, in order to uphold the professional standards of pest control practices.
Management of vector-borne diseases
Hong Kong needs to guard against vector-borne diseases, such as malaria, dengue fever, Zika virus infection, Japanese encephalitis (JE), chikungunya fever, plague, scrub typhus, urban typhus, spotted fever and hantavirus infection. The FEHD works with the Department of Health, the Housing Department, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, the Home Affairs Department, etc. to put in place appropriate vector control measures as well as to initiate investigations immediately once a disease is reported.
Risk Assessment and Surveillance of Mosquitoes
Hong Kong is under the constant threat of dengue fever. Local dengue vector mosquito in the community and the port areas are monitored continually. Since April 2020, the Department has adopted a newly designed gravidtrap to replace ovitrap as a tool for surveillance of vector mosquitoes. The gravidtrap indices and density indices obtained from survey areas are released to the parties concerned and the public to increase community participation in controlling the vector and heighten awareness of the mosquito problem. Starting from January 2021, the number of areas covered by the dengue vector surveillance programme has been increased to 64. Mosquitoes collected from areas with Area Gravidtrap Index (AGI) of over 10% for Aedes albopictus would be tested for the presence of dengue virus. In 2021, the average gravidtrap index and average density index recorded in the community were 5.0% and 1.3 respectively, indicating that 5.0% of all areas covered by the surveillance programme were found to have activities of Aedes albopictus and an average of 1.3 adult Aedes albopictus were collected in each positive gravidtrap. The highest Monthly Gravidtrap Index (MGI) for Aedes albopictus recorded in the community was 14.8% (in June) and the highest Port Monthly Gravidtrap Index (PMGI) was 1.9% (in May). The figures were similar to those of 2020. In addition, a long-standing control programme against malaria-transmitting mosquitoes, covering some 600 streams, returned favourable results in 2021, revealing no evidence of local transmission of malaria.
JE vector surveillance programme has been conducted since 2013 to monitor the distribution of Culex tritaeniorhynchus at selected areas in Yuen Long district. The programme was extended to cover seven different districts in October 2015 and further extended to eight districts in 2018. In 2021, a total of 326 Culex tritaeniorhynchus were collected. No JE virus was detected in these samples.
During the year, the Department conducted 848,281 inspections with 72,012 mosquito breeding places found and eliminated, 73 warning letters issued, and 204 summonses taken out. Legal action was taken against those who allowed mosquitoes to breed on their premises.
In view of a local case of dengue fever in 2020, the Department deployed additional anti-mosquito teams to sustain the efforts in mosquito control. The four Pest Control Inspection Teams stepped up inspection of construction sites and enforcement action against mosquito breeding places. By 31 December 2021, the Department had instituted 204 prosecutions under the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap 132) against mosquito breeding found in relevant premises, comprising 191 cases involving construction sites and 13 cases involving other premises. Additional resources were also deployed to carry out intensive mosquito preventive and control exercises across the territory, including conducting the All-out Anti-mosquito Operations since 12 April 2021, with a view to suppressing the adult mosquito population and eradicating any possibly infected mosquitoes. The gravidtrap index and density index, collected in two phases for each surveyed area, are released every month on FEHD's website. Links to GeoInfo Map have been made available on FEHD's website since May 2021. The interactive maps there, showing details of the individual surveyed areas, can keep the public abreast of the latest situation of mosquito infestation and facilitate them as well as relevant government departments and property management companies in taking timely anti-mosquito measures. The Department also stepped up publicity to remind the public that mosquito control was important in all seasons.
Anti-mosquito campaign
An inter-departmental Anti-mosquito Campaign was launched in three phases in 2021 to strengthen anti-mosquito measures. Related educational and publicity work continued.
Risk Assessment and Surveillance of Rodents
To keep track of the extent of rodent infestation, rodent infestation surveys have been conducted since 2000. The Rodent Infestation Rate (RIR) (the percentage of bait consumed by rodents, obtained from different places at different times) is used to assess rodent problems at different places so as to take prompt action to prevent their proliferation. The overall RIR obtained in 2021 was 3.1% which indicated that rodent infestation was generally under control.
Inspections and disinfestations are also carried out regularly to contain rodent problems. During the year, the Department handled 11,102 reports of rodent problem, issued 53 written warnings, and collected 67,182 dead rodents (33,846 trapped and 33,336 poisoned). More than 17,840 rat holes were filled.
Moreover, the Department monitors the rat-flea index of waterfront and land port areas to assess the risk of plague transmission. The overall rat-flea index was 0.67 in 2021, indicating that the risk of plague transmission was low. The Department notified relevant government departments and stakeholders of the results immediately, and provided technical assistance in prevention and control of rodents and fleas for prompt remedial control measures. Surveys were also carried out in villages to monitor the rat-flea situation and the overall rat-flea index was zero. (The WHO states that a Rat-flea Index greater than 1 represents an increased plague risk for humans if the plague bacillus has been introduced into a country or region.)
Anti-rodent campaign
In addition to performing routine rodent control duties, the Department also encourages community participation in its efforts to control rodents through the annual territory-wide inter-departmental Anti-rodent Campaign. The campaign was promoted through a number of channels, including theme talks and exhibitions. In addition, the Department conducted two rounds of Anti-rodent Operations in designated target areas in various districts in May and November 2021 respectively, each lasting for eight weeks. Multi-pronged strategies, including stepping up rodent disinfestation work, cleaning services and enforcement action in designated target areas, were adopted to combat the rodent problem. Interim data have been provided in respect of selected rear lanes in various districts for timely follow-up actions. In parallel, the enhanced version of anti-rodent operations at designated target areas has been piloted in Sham Shui Po, Wan Chai and Yuen Long to expand the scope of rodent control, so as to cover more rodent blackspots, including those in public markets and municipal services buildings, hawker bazaars and rear lanes adjacent to food premises, and to conduct large-scale and targeted anti-rodent operations. The special operations concluded with fruitful results.
The Department will continue to strengthen collaboration with various government departments and district organisations to enhance publicity and public education to promote rodent control work at community levels in a more effective manner.
Application of New Technologies in enhancing pest control
The Department has actively explored ways to enhance surveillance and control of mosquitoes and rodents. For control of adult mosquitoes, a large robotics ultra-low volume fogger has been tested. It can be driven to designated places to spray pesticides. The range of the sprayer is wider than that of the knapsack sprayer being used. This can facilitate the fogging operations in large areas and is particularly useful in killing adult mosquitoes in places that are difficult for workers to reach. The Department has been conducting field trials since April 2021. The initial feedback is positive and the FEHD is recommending other departments to adopt the technology.
Regarding rodent prevention and control, the Department conducted trials on the use of thermal imaging cameras to capture video images with the use of artificial intelligence to monitor the extent of rodent activities. Initial trial results showed that the technology was able to monitor rodent activities effectively. The Department had implemented the thermal imaging cameras before, during and after the anti-rodent operations in designated target areas for quantitative evaluation of the effectiveness of the rodent control operations.
Airport Disease Vectors Surveillance
Hong Kong is renowned for its vibrant international airport. To ensure that it is free from dengue fever and plague vectors, monitoring stations have been set up at various points in accordance with international health regulations. In 2021, about 700 mosquito surveys were conducted, with PMGI consistently below 2.0%. The rat-flea index recorded from rat-flea studies was zero.
Cross-boundary Co-operation
As infectious diseases know no physical boundaries, close ties have been established among Guangdong, Zhuhai, Shenzhen, Macao and Hong Kong in the fight against such diseases and the disease vectors. Although regular communications through meetings and exchange programme involving professionals from Guangdong, Macao and Hong Kong have been suspended due to the ongoing COVID-19 epidemic since early 2020, sharing of surveillance results at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge is still in place for better understanding of vector distribution in areas under the purview of the three parties.
Other Pest Control Programmes
Other than mosquitoes and rats, the Department also controls other pests such as flies, fleas, mites, biting midges, cockroaches, ants, wasps and ticks. In 2021, 54,626 disinfestation operations using pesticides were carried out. Staff are deployed to patrol refuse collection points, rear lanes and hygiene blackspots to spray insecticides, as necessary, and remove items attracting flies.