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The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (June 1) announced that the import ban imposed on raw oysters from Drumcliff Bay in Ireland (harvest area code: SO-DB-DB) has been lifted with immediate effect.
Following up on a number of food poisoning clusters related to the consumption of raw oysters earlier, the CFS found that the raw oysters supplied by the restaurant concerned were harvested in Drumcliff Bay, Ireland (harvest area code: SO-DB-DB). For the sake of prudence, the CFS had imposed an import ban on all raw oysters harvested in the area since February 25 this year to safeguard public health and food safety.
A CFS spokesman said, "The CFS has been following up on the incident closely with the Irish authorities since then. In view of the submission of an investigation report and the implementation of surveillance programmes by the Irish authorities, the CFS has conducted an assessment and decided to lift the import ban imposed on raw oysters from Drumcliff Bay in Ireland (harvest area code: SO-DB-DB)."
The spokesman added, "The CFS will continue to monitor closely raw oysters imported from the area. Appropriate actions will be taken to safeguard food safety and public health."
Ends/Wednesday, June 1, 2016
Issued at HKT 15:36
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