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The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (August 3) that a ban on the import into and sale within Hong Kong of all "Hung Rui Chen" (Horng Ryen Jen) (in case of any problem with the transliteration, the name in Chinese shall prevail) sandwiches produced in Taiwan has been imposed with immediate effect as the products have been suspected to be related to a number of food poisoning cases earlier on.
A spokesman for the CFS said, "Upon receiving notification from the Centre for Health Protection about suspected food poisoning cases in relation to sandwiches of 'Hung Rui Chen' (Horng Ryen Jen) earlier, the CFS has immediately taken follow-up action, including liaising with the trade and tracing the sources and distribution of the affected product, and urged the public yesterday not to consume the products concerned. The trade was also reminded to stop selling or using the affected product. Follow-up investigations by the Centre and records of the importers indicate that the 'Hung Rui Chen' (Horng Ryen Jen) sandwiches involved in the suspected food poisoning cases have been imported from Taiwan. Furthermore, from epidemiological perspective and the latest information, it is suspected that the multiple outbreaks of food poisoning cases arose from food handling upstream. For the sake of prudence, the CFS has decided to ban all 'Hung Rui Chen' (Horng Ryen Jen) sandwiches from being imported into and sold in Hong Kong immediately. The ban covers all batches and flavours of sandwiches of the brand wherever they are produced, to facilitate Taiwan's investigation and institution of preventive measures."
"In addition, the CFS urges members of the public not to consume the affected products by bringing them into Hong Kong personally or purchasing online so as to safeguard their health."
According to Section 54 of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap 132), all food for sale in Hong Kong, whether locally produced or imported, should be fit for human consumption. An offender is subject to a maximum fine of $50,000 and imprisonment for six months upon conviction.
The CFS will inform the Taiwanese authorities and the local trade, closely follow up the incident and take appropriate action to safeguard food safety and public health. Investigation is ongoing.
Ends/Monday, August 3, 2015
Issued at HKT 20:12
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