A review of foodborne disease outbreaks from 1996 to 2005 in Hong Kong and its implications on food safety promotion

Foodborne diseases are an important cause of morbidity and mortality and are a growing global concern. A series of recent food safety problems has raised much public concern in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Despite the fact that many resources have been spent on food safety promotion, there has been no noticeable impact on the rising trend of local foodborne disease outbreaks. This quantitative research study aimed to identify what should be targeted in the current local food safety promotion. It presented a descriptive analysis of local official statistics from 1996 to 2005, followed by a comparison of foodborne disease outbreaks and food safety measures in some Asian places. Results found that about 72% of total local confirmed outbreaks were caused by Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Salmonella spp., while around 46% of the total outbreaks were due to inadequate cooking and contamination by raw food. It suggests that food safety promotion targeted on these factors may greatly reduce local foodborne disease outbreaks. Further elaboration could have been given if detailed breakdown in each outbreak had been provided.