We refer to Kevin Sinclair's article, headlined 'Food hygiene action a matter of urgency' (South China Morning Post, November 9), concerning food safety. In an admirable piece urging the Government to raise hygiene standards within the industry, he refers to the 364 cases of food poisoning last year, affecting 1,882 people. We'd hazard a guess this is only a fraction of the number of individual cases that occur, many of which are not life-threatening, but still involve a fair amount of suffering. We know of many people who have been struck down either by a dodgy bit of shellfish, a badly cooked chicken or unwashed salad. Just ask around, it is more common than you think. It is a simple matter of ensuring food is prepared in a proper way - any restaurant which cannot manage to serve untainted food should be shut down. We suggest a 'three strikes and out' system, with a league table produced every six months featuring the worst of the bunch - a good old-fashioned witch-hunt. That will get them reaching for the scouring pads. While Mexico and India have 'Montezuma's revenge' and 'Delhi belly', we wouldn't mind establishing a maxim for Hong Kong. This would put us firmly on the world food-poisoning map, where we belong. ANDREW ROBINSON Happy Valley GEORGE HUDSON Mid-Levels
