Hong Kong Secretary for Health, Welfare & Food York Chow said Friday that the government is working to restore consumer confidence in freshwater fish and revitalize the market in the wake of the malachite green scare.

However, there is no plan to compensate local fish traders, he said.

More than 100 tons of freshwater fish from Shenzhen, which have been proven safe, are ready for delivery to Hong Kong, according to a government press release on Friday.

Chow told legislators on Friday that freshwater fish products are much safer now after the Chinese mainland enhanced controls on fish exports.

He said malachite green levels detected in freshwater fish samples are unlikely to cause adverse health effects.

"With the level of malachite green detected, a person would only suffer from adverse health effects if he or she consumes more than 290 kg of freshwater fish each day over a prolonged period," he said.

He added that in the short term, the government will require all aquatic product imports to be accompanied by certificates issued by the authorities of origin. In the medium term, it will implement the regulatory regime of registered fish farms and other control measures at the source.

"In the long run, we will require all importers and wholesalers to register the origin of all imports and the details of their sales, to enable rapid tracing of the origin of any problematic aquatic products and prompt follow-up actions."

In a separate development, Hong Kong Director of Food & Environmental Hygiene Gregory Leung on Thursday reached an agreement with Shenzhen authorities on freshwater fish safety controls and will visit Guangdong to discuss the issue with the provincial government.

Chow hopes the registration of Chinese mainland fish farms which are allowed to provide freshwater fish to Hong Kong can be completed as soon as possible so the Food Environmental Hygiene Department can monitor their operation.

Meanwhile, the government on Friday gazetted the amendments to the Harmful Substances in Food Regulations to prohibit the use of malachite green in food with immediate effect.

(Xinhua News Agency August 27, 2005)