Port inspectors proposed to stop food imports evading safety checks
Inspectors at Kwai Chung terminal would monitor produce from overseas
Food safety authorities are planning to set up an inspection checkpoint at Kwai Chung container terminal to plug control loopholes that could have let contaminated fresh produce enter Hong Kong unchecked.
The undersecretary for food and health, Professor Sophia Chan Siu-chee, admitted yesterday that the present safety controls on fresh produce brought in by sea were inadequate.
"We agree that there is room for improvement. We are considering setting up a food inspection checkpoint in Kwai Chung. And we are now discussing it with the customs," she told the Legislative Council's panel on food safety and environmental hygiene yesterday.
This followed reports by the South China Morning Post of lax surveillance at the Kwai Chung container terminal, which is the only sea entry point for food from overseas.
Food imported by sea does not go through routine checks as the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department has no inspection checkpoint at the terminal. Food imported by air is tested for radiation at the airport.
Food arriving by sea is inspected by officers only when it is moved to storage areas by importers. This could allow some importers to avoid inspection.