Secretary for Health, Welfare & Food Dr York Chow has called on Hong Kong, Guangdong, Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Macau to strengthen co-operation in health, inspection, quarantine and food safety to keep up with surging regional economic co-operation and freight and passenger flow.

Speaking at the Guangdong, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Macau Health, Animal & Plant Quarantine & Food Safety Control Meeting today, Dr Chow said recent cases of atypical pneumonia, avian influenza and malachite green-tainted food underline the importance of inspection, quarantine and food safety.

He said a sound foundation has been laid with good co-operation in health, inspection and quarantine between the five jurisdictions in recent years. But through expert exchange, the health, animal and plant quarantine and food safety technical standard can be raised, facilitating the implementation of safety measures and further refinement of the co-operation mechanism and information exchange.

To ensure the safety of Mainland food supplied to Hong Kong, good control at the source and stringent inspection and quarantine before export is required, he added.

The two-day meeting opened in Hong Kong today. Discussion topics include inspection and quarantine on health, fruit and vegetables, aquatic products, plants, livestock and eggs.