On the Buffet On the Buffet TableTable……

ScenarioScenario• Your family went to Yummy Hotel for

an international buffet. All food items have been imported from the countries of origin. Do you know how many countries that have exported food for this buffet?

• Raise your hand if you know the answer.

Yummy HotelYummy Hotel’’s International Buffets International Buffet• Tasmanian oysters• Hokkaido botan shrimps• Singaporean Hainanese chicken rice• Boston lobsters • Parisian snails with herbs• Roast grade A US black Angus beef • Greek grape leaves stuffed with rice• Italian lamb with pistachios• Norwegian salmon• Spanish salami and cheese strudel• French goose liver with jelly• Roast Wagyu thinly sliced• German veggie basket (cucumber,

lettuce, bean sprout)• Plain rice

• Answer: The food comes from 11 countries (Don’t forget that the rice we usually have is from the mainland or Thailand!)

• Hong Kong is an international metropolitan and we can enjoy delicacies from all around the world. Our food usually comes from the mainland. We are very lucky!

• But…

• One of the food products in the buffet may not be safe to eat. Do you know which it is?

• Can you tell us some news about food safety problems?

Outbreak of enterohaemorrhagic Outbreak of enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) infection in E. coli (EHEC) infection in

Germany soars, June 2011Germany soars, June 2011 • In mid May, there was an outbreak of EHEC in Germany. At that

time, many new cases were related to eating raw cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuces. In June, German authorities identified EHEC in bean sprouts. The situation had been worsening. Just over three weeks in May, Germany had already found nearly 2000 confirmed or suspected cases and 18 deaths at least. There were also cases in Austria, Denmark, France, Holland, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and England. One person died in Sweden. The US had three suspected cases in these few days. With the exception of two cases, the rest of the patients had either been to Germany or had been in contact with people from Germany in a recent period. In view of this, the US government had tightened the monitoring of food from contaminated regions. Experts commented that we should be more careful about food safety as food items could be contaminated in many different ways. Not only should more stringent measures be put in place in the production process, but the government and the market should also establish a more comprehensive tracking and alert system for better management.

• In recent years, we show much concern about problems with food products which are harmful to our health. A lot of these products are found in the mainland and overseas. Hong Kong is a rather safe place. However, as we are now living in a globalised world with blurred boundaries, international affairs are very much part of our lives.

Reference MaterialsReference Materials• Food Poisoning Outbreaks Related to

Buffets• http://www.cfs.gov.hk/tc_chi/multimedia/m

ultimedia_pub/multimedia_pub_fsf_38_04.html

• 3 Secrets to Safe Holiday Buffet• http://www.cfs.gov.hk/tc_chi/whatsnew/

whatsnew_sfst/whatsnew_sfst_2010_3Secrets_to_Safe_Holiday_Buffet.html