Food safety tips during Lunar New Year

With the Lunar New Year (LNY) around the corner, a spokesman for the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (January 26) reminded people to take heed of key aspects for food safety in the purchase and consumption of LNY food, and provided them with healthy eating tips during LNY.

Safety tips for buying LNY food:
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* Patronise reliable shops;
* When buying non-packaged festive items like crispy triangles, sweetened dried fruits and melon seeds, pay attention to the hygiene conditions of the shops as well as personal hygiene of their staff;
*Choose food products with natural colour. Avoid buying sweetened lotus seeds and pistachios that are bright white and melon seeds with unnatural gloss;
* When buying prepackaged food items, check the expiry date and whether the packaging is intact; and
* Refrigerate festive cakes that are not for immediate consumption and pay heed to expiry dates.

Safety tips for consumption of LNY food and festive meals:
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* Cook chickens thoroughly. If there are pinkish juices running from the cooked chickens or the middle parts of the bones are still red in colour, cook them again until fully done;
* Oysters should be thoroughly cooked before consumption. Avoid over-consumption of oysters;
* Remove viscera before cooking fan shells and fan scallops, and discard any cooking liquid before consumption;
* Finish the food as soon as possible after cooking. Leftovers should be refrigerated within two hours after cooking;
* Do not store leftovers in the refrigerator for longer than three days and do not reheat them more than once; and
* Discard food with mould or an abnormal smell or taste.

Food safety tips for travellers:
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* Eat poultry meat and eggs only if thoroughly cooked;
* Avoid visiting live poultry markets and contacting with poultry, birds and their droppings; and
* Avoid consuming raw or undercooked animal products, including milk and meat.

The CFS spokesman said, "During the festive season, people should also maintain a balanced diet and avoid eating too much preserved and processed food. As sweetened melon, sweetened lotus seeds and sweetened coconut slices are high in sugar, people may consider replacing them with healthier snacks such as dried fruits (e.g. dried apricots and raisins). The consumption of Chinese pork sausages, preserved pork, soy sauce melon seeds and baked salted nuts should be restricted as they are high in sodium (salt) and fat. People are advised to make use of the nutrition labels of prepackaged foods to compare their nutritional contents for healthier food choices," he said.

Please visit the CFS website (www.cfs.gov.hk) for more food safety tips.

Ends/Monday, January 26, 2015