Food safety and hygiene are critical to our health. From purchasing and preparing food to cooking and dining out, eating right begins with eating safe. Here are some information and tips about food safety and hygiene.

As a first step in ensuring food safety, you should stay informed about the latest safety issues in Hong Kong. The Centre for Food Safety maintains vigilance over local and overseas food incidents, assesses their local impact and issues timely food alerts to the public. You can keep yourself updated by visiting the Centre’s website. It also provides a dedicated "Consumer Zone" with comprehensive information on food safety and nutrition arranged in a well-structured manner.

• Latest food alerts
  http://www.cfs.gov.hk/english/whatsnew/whatsnew_fa/whatsnew_fa.html
• Consumer Zone
  http://www.cfs.gov.hk/english/consumer_zone/consumer_zone.html

You should purchase food from clean and reliable shops or markets to ensure its quality. Below are some guidelines on food hygiene that you should observe when buying food.

• Tips on purchasing, handling and cooking food
  http://www.cheu.gov.hk/eng/info/foodhygiene_02.htm
• Quiz on food safety
  http://www.cfs.gov.hk/english/programme/programme_haccp/programme_haccp_tips01.html
• Safety tips for consuming siu-mei and lo-mei
  http://www.cfs.gov.hk/english/programme/programme_haccp/programme_haccp_siulomei_siuconsummer.html

The way you prepare the food is also critical to maintaining its hygiene. Here are some related tips.

• More on food safety at home
  http://www.cfs.gov.hk/english/programme/programme_haccp/programme_haccp_home_back.html
• Advice on hygienic preparation and handling of pre-cut fruits (pdf file)
  http://www.cfs.gov.hk/english/programme/programme_rafs/files/consumer_handbill.pdf
• Comparison of different defrosting methods
  http://www.cfs.gov.hk/english/whatsnew/whatsnew_fsf/whatsnew_fsf_defrosting.html
• More on pesticides poisoning
  http://www.cheu.gov.hk/eng/info/foodhygiene_03.htm

When cooking your food, you should continue to observe safe practices. You should also exercise care when handling leftovers. Here you can find useful information about cooking, re-heating and consuming food categorised as “high-risk”.

• More on cooking and re-heating food safely
  http://www.cfs.gov.hk/english/programme/programme_haccp/programme_haccp_tips05.html
• Information about cooking hygiene and safety in using microwave ovens (pdf file)
  http://www.cfs.gov.hk/english/multimedia/multimedia_pub/files/microwave.pdf
• Seasonal food safety tips
  http://www.cfs.gov.hk/english/whatsnew/whatsnew_sfst/whatsnew_sfst.html
• Safety tips for consuming poultry meat and eggs
  http://www.cfs.gov.hk/english/whatsnew/whatsnew_fstr/whatsnew_fstr_01.html
• Safety tips for consuming sashimi
  http://www.cfs.gov.hk/english/whatsnew/whatsnew_fsf/whatsnew_fsf_raw_shrimp.html

A good reason to eat only in licensed restaurants is that they must all adhere to the Food Hygiene Code published by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department. But you should still pay attention to the hygiene of both the restaurant and its employees.

• More on Food Hygiene Code for food business
  http://www.fehd.gov.hk/publications/code/code_index.htm

To avoid food poisoning, you should be particularly cautious in summer, which is the peak season for bacterial outbreaks. The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department has tips about this.

• Information about prevention of food poisioning
  http://www.cfs.gov.hk/english/multimedia/multimedia_pub/multimedia_pub_pm_fpogd.html

If you experience or witness food poisoning when dining out, you can contact the Centre for Food Safety on its 24-hour hotline at 1823. We can all play a part to make our dining experiences as pleasant as possible.