The Centre for Food Safety (CFS), established in 2006, is tasked to protect public health and 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, checking of import 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 2022
| Applications approved for import licence for frozen/ chilled meat and poultry | 50,909 |
| Applications approved for import permission for game, meat, poultry and eggs | 1,178 |
| Applications approved for import permission for milk and milk products | 398 |
| Applications approved for import permission for frozen confections | 510 |
| Targeted inspections of food trucks at food control points | 12,057 |
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 had 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 society had resumed normalcy, sample collection has stopped since mid-December 2022. As at the end of 2022, over 48 000 samples of imported frozen foods and their packaging from 64 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 issued in 2018, 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.
In view of the Japan government’s announcement on its proposed discharge plan of treated nuclear wastewater in 2023, the CFS, to enhance transparency, reports the food surveillance results of imported Japanese food on its website on a monthly basis from December 2022 onwards.
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 63,800 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 agricultural produce imported mainly from the Mainland. The testing services are:
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Analysis of pesticide residues in fresh vegetables and fruits. The tests cover isocarbophos, methamidophos and other organophosphorous pesticides, N-methyl carbamates and pyrethroids.
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Analysis of pesticide residues in cereal and grains. The tests cover isocarbophos, methamidophos and other organophosphorous pesticides, N-methyl carbamates and pyrethroids.
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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 resThe Centre for Food Safety holds a press briefing through online video conferencing to announce the results of a study on Changes in Nitrate and Nitrite Levels of Cooked Vegetables during Storage.ults. 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 2022, a total of 4,834 food complaints were handled.
Statistics on the Food Surveillance Programme in 2022
(A) Testing of food samples
| Testing | Number# | Percentage# |
|---|---|---|
| Chemical | ||
| Test conducted | 44,549 | - |
| Satisfactory | 44,448 | 99.8% |
| Microbiological | ||
| Test conducted | 14,747 | - |
| Satisfactory | 14,730 | 99.9% |
| Radiation level | ||
| Test conducted | 4,496 | - |
| Satisfactory | 4,496 | 100% |
# Excluding 9,346 samples of imported Japanese food tested for radiation level in 2022.
(B) Enforcement of food labelling
| Food labels inspected | 55,192 |
| Prosecutions taken out | 151 |
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 has been conducting a routine surveillance programme on AMR in food since January 2022. A total of more than 2,000 food samples including raw meat and ready-to-eat food would be collected at retail level for testing. They are tested for extended spectrum beta-lactamases-producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL-PE) and carbapenem-resistant organisms (CRO) (including Enterobacteriaceae, Acinetobacter and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) as well as E. coli, Salmonella, Campylobacter and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE). As at December 2022, ESBL-PE were detected in 59.9% of raw meat samples and 10.1% of ready-to-eat (RTE) food samples, while CRO were detected in 20.9% of raw meat samples and 2.5% of RTE food samples.
Management of Food Incidents
The CFS monitors food incidents, both local and overseas, on a daily basis. Around 2,500 food incidents were identified from the Food Incident Surveillance System (FISS) in 2022. 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 72 trade alerts, 91 press releases on food incidents and 349 food incident posts were issued by the CFS in 2022.
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 156 visits cum investigations to food premises involved in food incidents were carried out by the unit in 2022. The most commonly implicated causative agents in food poisoning outbreaks related to food premises were Salmonella, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Norovirus, Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridium perfringens. The three most frequently identified contributing factors in descending order were improper holding temperature, contamination by utensils and contamination by raw food.
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 2022, there were 11,142 registered food importers and 9,183 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 has developed the Food Trader Portal (FTP) in phases. Since December 2019, food traders can receive food safety and import control notifications electronically and perform tasks online such as trader registration, renewal of registration and updating of trader information after opening FTP user accounts. All import-related functions had been fully implemented in May 2021.
The FTP has been further extended to cover export-related services in March 2022. Food traders can apply for export certificates, namely Health Certificate for Foods of Animal Origin and Food Inspection Certificate, and make payment of the application fee online.
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 surveillance programmes on veterinary drug residues and diseases with public health significance in live food animals.
Implementing the concept of “from farm to table”, veterinary staff members visit registered farms exporting to Hong Kong to understand their husbandry practices. In 2022, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, VPHS used questionnaires as an alternative to survey the latest situations of 60 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 2022
| Type of animal | No. of animals inspected (inspected in slaughterhouse) | No. of animal health certificates verified |
|---|---|---|
| Pigs |
1,084,748 |
24,816 health certificates and 8,807 admission forms for local pigs |
| Cattle |
11,906 |
1,257 health certificates |
| Goats |
1,299 |
12 health certificates |
The Public Health (Animals and Birds) (Chemical Residues) Regulation (Cap 139N) prohibits the use of certain chemicals, including clenbuterol, and restricts the residue levels of a number of chemicals in food animals. In2022, 29,996 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. No tissue sample was 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, 1,419 veterinary health certificates were issued in 2022. They covered products such as ice cream, mooncakes, Chinese dim sum, milk beverages and instant noodle, which were exported to the Mainland, Macao, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, 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 2022, the CFS released the results of several risk assessment projects, namely: “Changes in Nitrate and Nitrite Levels of Cooked Vegetables during Storage”, “Microbiological Quality of Sandwiches” and “Sodium Content in Dim Sum”.
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 completed the main fieldwork of a food consumption survey for the younger population covering primary and secondary school students in the fourth quarter of 2022.
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.
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.
One of the initiatives set out in the Policy Measures of the Chief Executive’s 2022 Policy Address was to review and update in phases the food safety legislation relating to additives in food to further enhance food safety. The first phase covered preservatives and antioxidants in food. The CFS reviewed the Preservatives in Food Regulation in 2022, making reference to the standards of the Codex Alimentarius Commission and the regulatory arrangements of the Mainland and other major food trading partners as well as took into account dietary practices of the local population. In addition, the CFS has preliminarily completed the review of regulatory standards for residues of veterinary drugs in food under the Harmful Substances in Food Regulations (Cap. 132AF).
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 156 educational talks and 36 roving exhibitions. The CFS also regularly conducts the Trade Consultation Forum that allows the Centre and the food trade to exchange views on food safety matters and control measures throughout the year.
The CFS is actively promoting the adoption of Good Hygiene Practices (GHPs) in the food business to maintain the necessary operational and environmental conditions for the production of safe food. In order to help full-time, part-time, and temporary food handlers in the catering industry to comprehend the essential concepts of GHP, a new thematic website called “Safe Kitchen” (cfs.gov.hk/safekitchen) has been launched. It uses images and short videos to explain the concepts in an easy-to-understand approach. In addition, the CFS has launched a new website “Safe Food for All” (cfs.gov.hk/safefood) to educate the public on food allergy, nutrition labels, food waste, and foodborne antimicrobial resistance while promoting how the “Five Keys to Food Safety” can be easily applied when preparing meals at home or dining out.
The Harmful Substances in Food (Amendment) Regulation 2021 (the Amendment Regulation) was passed by the Legislative Council in July 2021. The Amendment Regulation will come into force in two phases - for the provisions relating to specifying partially hydrogenated oil as a prohibited substance in food and the related marking and labelling requirement to come into operation on 1 December 2023, and all other provisions came into operation on 1 June 2023. The CFS has been communicating with food businesses on the Amendment Regulation through publicity materials and meetings with the trade.
The CFS started its year-round Food Safety Day 2022 campaign in June under the theme “Clean Hands Well to Eat Well”, reminding the food trade and the public that good hand hygiene is the single most important thing one can do to help reduce the spread of infections along the food chain. The CFS also collaborated with the District Health Centres (DHCs) to raise public knowledge of hand hygiene and food safety through health talks and training, as well as educational videos broadcast at DHCs across the territory.
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 2022
| Item | 2022 figures |
|---|---|
| No. of educational/publicity programmes organised | 10 |
| No. of resource materials produced | 55 |
| Total attendance at public education/communication activities | 49,016 |
| No. of public enquiries handled | 3,537 |
| No. of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) seminars/workshops | 33 |
| No. of followers/subscribers on CFS' social media platforms | 33,945 |
| 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 are provided.
World Health Organization Collaborating Centre
The CFS has been designated as a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre (WHOCC) for Risk Analysis of Chemicals in Food since October 2010 and was last redesignated in October 2022 for four years till 2026. As a WHOCC, 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. In 2022, the number of areas covered by the dengue vector surveillance programme was 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 2022, the average gravidtrap index and average density index recorded in the community were 5.2% and 1.4 respectively, indicating that 5.2% of all areas covered by the surveillance programme were found to have activities of Aedes albopictus and an average of 1.4 adult Aedes albopictus were collected in each positive gravidtrap. The figures were slightly higher than those of 2021. The highest Monthly Gravidtrap Index (MGI) for Aedes albopictus recorded in the community was 21.1% (in June) and the highest Port Monthly Gravidtrap Index (PMGI) was 4.8% (in June). In addition, a long-standing control programme against malaria-transmitting mosquitoes, covering some 600 streams, returned favourable results in 2022, 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 2022, a total of 337 Culex tritaeniorhynchus were collected. No JE virus was detected in these samples.
During the year, the Department conducted 825,930 inspections with 72,252 mosquito breeding places found and eliminated, 44 warning letters issued, and 192 summonses taken out. Legal action was taken against those who allowed mosquitoes to breed on their premises.
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 2022, the Department had instituted 192 prosecutions under the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap 132) against mosquito breeding found in relevant premises, comprising 172 cases involving construction sites and 20 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 10 March 2022, with a view to suppressing the adult mosquito population. 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, showing details of the individual surveyed areas, 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 2022 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 2022 was 3.3% which indicated that rodent infestation in the surveyed areas was not extensive during the survey period. In view of the limitations of the current rodent survey and the RIR, the Department is working with a local university to study the possibility of incorporating various data to formulate a more representative "Comprehensive Rodent Infestation Rate".
Inspections and disinfestations are also carried out regularly to contain rodent problem. During the year, the Department handled 10,763 reports of rodent problem, issued 48 written warnings, and collected 77,232 dead rodents (45,422 trapped and 31,810 poisoned). More than 20,418 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 0.4 in 2022, 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 fixed pitch hawker stalls and hawker bazaars to monitor the rat-flea situation and the overall rat-flea index was 0.01. (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 Anti-rodent Operations in designated target areas (the Operations) in various districts in May, 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. The department had conducted trial on an enhanced model in different districts since the second round of the Operations in 2021. The enhanced model involved conducting large-scale and targeted anti-rodent operations in extended areas, covering more rodent black spots, including those in public markets and municipal services buildings, hawker bazaars and rear lanes adjacent to food premises. The Operations had successfully reinforced the effectiveness of rodent prevention and control work at the district level. In October 2022, the Operations was renamed as “Strategic Anti-rodent Operations” and launched with the enhanced model adopted in all districts. Rodent control initiatives addressing serious target areas were deployed to sustain the effectiveness and improve rodent infestation area strategically.
The Department fully supports the Cross-sectoral Territory-wide Anti-rodent Action "各界攜手，全港滅鼠行動" (the Action) led by Environment and Ecology Bureau (EEB) and participated by various sections of the community. The Action was launched on 28 December 2022. EEB and the Department successively met with stakeholders including the pest control trade, estate management associations, catering business associations, market and hawker trader associations and the construction work associations were successively met in mid-December to engage them to the Action.
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, robotics fogger (RF) has been successfully developed with EMSD’s assistance by placing the ultra-low volume fogger on a moving platform to facilitate fogging operations in large areas and in places that are difficult for workers to reach. Three RFs were deployed in Sai Kung, Sha Tin and Yuen Long Districts respectively in May 2022.
Regarding rodent prevention and control, the Department made use of thermal imaging cameras to capture video images with the use of artificial intelligence to monitor the extent of rodent activities. 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 / strategic areas to assist in tracking rodent activities for timely intervention and quantitative evaluation of the effectiveness of the rodent control operations.
Overnight rodent control operations
The Department has initiated territory-wide overnight rodent control operations in all districts progressively, including forming the overnight rodent control teams and setting rodent traps in the small hours starting from mid-July 2022. Since rodents are usually active at night, the overnight rodent control operations had significantly enhanced the effectiveness of rodent prevention and control work at black spots.
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 2022, 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 2022, 49,946 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.