Monday 11th September 2006

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Current Articles

A Boat trip to nowhere September 25 at 5 PM Queens Pier

Dear Members, Take some time out of your busy schedule and join us for a leisure boat trip around Hong Kong amongst Friends.

There is food and drinks on board and we will have a great relaxed time.

The price is only HK$ 180 per person as the food is sponsored by our cooperative members Gerard Dubois from La Rose Noire and Walter Kern from Gastro Primo.

We the HKCA Team will make sure that there is enough Wine and Beer and other liquors on board.

Hurry and confirm your seat now, the boat can only take a maximum of 40 chefs.

To join this event please send e-mail to Eddy Leung at chef@eddy.com

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Even Yao Ming is sidelined as China Shark Fin debate falls flat

by Mark McCord Thu Aug 31, 1:23 PM ET

Shelves a a Hong Kong shop are stocked with jars filled with shark fins. The popularity of shark fin soup is blamed by environmentalists for drastically reducing shark numbers worldwide, and is thought directly responsible for putting four species on the endangered list.(AFP/File/Laurent Fievet)

HONG KONG (AFP) - It was supposed to be a media coup: basketball superstar Yao Ming took a public stage to condemn the consumption of shark fin soup and vowed never to eat the Chinese delicacy again.

But the media silence that has since greeted his pronouncement has only fuelled concerns that growing wealth in China is likely to boost the popularity of the dish -- and further diminish dwindling shark populations.

The popularity of shark fin soup is blamed by environmentalists for drastically reducing shark numbers worldwide, and is thought directly responsible for putting four species on the endangered list.

Towering superstar Yao's comments earlier this month won the praise of activists who are urging governments worldwide to ban fishing for shark fins.

Yao, together with Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast and sportswear tycoon Li Ning, and Chinese pop singer Liu Huan, all joined the campaign organized by environmental group WildAid.

However, the media snub in China -- and in Hong Kong, where some 80 percent of all shark fin is consumed -- suggested the campaign will face some tough resistance in the world's most populous country.

In a nation where outside interference is strictly resisted by the communist government, this was a step too far -- one of China's "national treasures" had rounded on his own culture.

"I guess editors must have felt it was embarrassing to China and to Yao for him to have made those comments about such an integral part of Chinese culture," said David Plott, head of media studies at Hong Kong University.

"There had to be a reason for not covering the story -- any newsman worth his desk would have leapt at it. It was a great story."

Worse than being ignored, Yao's comments drew him a reproach from seafood industry associations for making "rash remarks" that affected "the livelihood of the global fishery, seafood and catering industries".

They said that as "the pride of China" Yao had a special responsibility to carefully choose his words in public and not make groundless statements.

Yet Yao's comments were grounded in a very real threat posed to already falling shark numbers from the growing appetite for the soup among China's 1.3 billion people.

Until recently, shark fin sales had been dominated by the wealthy of Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan.

But China's economic boom has brought more people into the income bracket that affords them the luxury dish -- and they are buying it with gusto.

"Mainlanders are now our growth market," said Andreas Muller, chairman of the Hong Kong Chef's Association and chef at the Swire conglomerate's Butterfield's private members' club.

Association figures show local demand in the southern territory has plummeted by as much as a fifth in the past year while there has been a corresponding 30 percent rise in mainland visitors buying the soup.

"They have the wealth and shark fin is the traditional Chinese way of showing off wealth," Muller added.

Considered among the emperors' delicacies, shark fin -- a gloopy, almost tasteless gelatinous concoction given flavour by the addition of chicken stock -- has long been the highlight of business lunches and wedding banquets in Hong Kong.

Prized for its scarcity and high value -- the best fins cost a dollar a gram dry, and upwards of 100 dollars per bowl in a soup -- it is regarded as a status symbol that confers prestige on the meal's host.

"Our Chinese clients ask for shark fin now, whereas our local clients -- and especially the younger ones -- ask for it less and less," said Peter Lai, financial house sales director with UBS Vickers in Hong Kong.

"Clients expect to be treated like VIPs and for mainlanders that means shark fin soup. If they don't get it, you could lose the deal," Lai added.

The threat of 1.3 billion potential shark fin consumers is not lost on environmentalists.

"The problem is that it is being very successfully marketed in China," complained David Newberry, among the more vocal Hong Kong-based activists.

"As far as we understand, it isn't a traditional dish and -- let's face it -- it has no taste. It's just that people have been led to believe that if they don't offer it, they will lose face," added Newberry.

Activists are particularly revulsed by the method of fin harvesting, a process called "finning" in which the limb is hacked from the fish, which is then tossed back into the sea to die a painful death.

They point to studies, such as one recently by Science magazine, that suggested shark populations had halved since the 1980s, with numbers of some species, like the hammerhead shark, down almost 90 percent.

Activists scored a major victory last year when they pressured the newly opened Hong Kong Disneyland to drop the dish from its menu.

That was followed by a vow from the Hong Kong University never to serve shark fin at college functions.

Yao's conversion was another coup, but one born of a realisation that the fight to ban shark fin was entering a new and more difficult phase.

"China is going to be unstoppable," said Muller. "It is newly arrived to wealth and its 1.3 billion people are going to want to share the bounty that others have had in the past."

 

source: yahoo.com

 

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Hong Kong probing contaminated fish from China

HONG KONG : Health chiefs in Hong Kong are probing fish and prawns from China after freshwater

supplies were found to be contaminated with cancer-linked human hormones.

The latest food scare emerged after tests carried out in southern China's Guangdong province found some fish had been contaminated with the male hormones methyltestosterone and chloramphenicol, which have been linked to liver cancer.

"The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department's food surveillance programme has continuously been taking food samples for tests of veterinary drug residues and additives," a statement said.

"The department will contact the Guangdong authorities to inquire about the situation," it added.

Hong Kong is prone to food scares as growers and suppliers in China, from which the city sources most of its produce, often fail to observe food quality codes, through either ignorance or corruption.

The latest scare comes after samples of fish farmed in Guangdong were last year found to be contaminated by an industrial dye, malachite green, that is linked to some cancers.

The Hong Kong government introduced tighter import restrictions following the scandal.

In April this year new screening mechanisms for imported vegetables had to be introduced after banned pesticides were found in some samples. - AFP/de

Source: channel news asia

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Wow MLA Black Box competition has now 11 teams competing!

Click here MLA BLack Box H.K. for more info!

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What H.K. Chefs cook at home

Heirloom Tomato and Watermelon Salad

Tomatosalad

If you were trying to build the perfect summer salad, I don't know if you could do better than this refreshing combination of watermelon, Marmonde tomatoes, and feta. The salad is refreshing, juicy, sweet, and salty -- and the perfect starter during this hot weather.

To make the salad, rough-hewn chunks of seedless watermelon are combined with wedges of the ripest Marmonde tomatoes, olive oil, feta, and basil. The combination of tomatoes and watermelon may seem unlikely, but it works: the sweetness of the melon brings out the inherent sweetness of the tomatoes (which are fruits too, after all). A sprinkling of sea salt adds some contrast, as does the tangy feta.

Heirloom Tomato and Watermelon Salad

Serves 2 generously or 4 reasonably

3/4 pound seedless watermelon, rind removed
3/4 pound Marmonde tomatoes (about two large tomatoes)
3 ounces feta cheese
8 leaves basil
2 tablespoons Belazu olive oil
Maldon sea salt, to taste

1. Cut the watermelon into large, imperfect chunks and slice the Marmonde tomatoes into wedges. Combine in a bowl.

2. Crumble feta over the watermelon and tomato mixture, add basil, torn by hand, and toss gently with olive oil.

3. Season, to taste, with Maldon sea salt. Enjoy immediately before the fruit releases too much juice.

by: Marco Veringa

Want to see YOUR recipe here? Simply send an e-mail to marco.veringa@hongkong-chefs.com and you may be in the next newsflash.

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When Grass-Fed Beef Isn't

Organic advocates are upset with proposed changes in labeling regulations that would actually change the definition “Grass-Fed”.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is proposing to change the definition of "grass-fed beef" so that only 99% — rather than 100% — of a cow's diet come from grass foraging. The definition of grass also would be expanded to include such things as legumes and corn stalks left over from harvests. The rationale for the proposal, according to published reports, is that because some ranches are located in geographic areas where year-round grass foraging is simply not possible because of weather restrictions, those ranches ought to not be penalized for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Opponents of the proposed rule change say that it would change down the meaning of "grass-fed."

For example, Dana Ehrlich, CEO of Verde Farms, tells us, "As a marketer of 100% grass-fed organic beef, watering down the standards does not help the consumer understand an already cluttered, confusing marketplace and reduces the profit incentive for farmers. Without that incentive, farmers will not increase supply which means ultimately the consumers loses out as they are 'forced' to purchase conventional beef from the 4 large meatpackers that control 84% of the US market."

The fact is that grass-fed beef is leaner, richer in some vitamins and minerals, free from antibiotics ... and more expensive; it's a product that appeals to a small segment of the population of beef eaters that frankly want this product – and for the USDA to change the definition to allow other producers to qualify for the label is downright unfair – to the current producers and the shoppers who buy the product.

Grass-fed ought to mean just that – grass-fed

 

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Contaminated Honey

Follow The Consumer Council (CC) conducted a survey on honey earlier this year. There were found 6 samples contained the antibiotic chloramphenicol of 34 honey products. The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department's Centre for Food Safety (CFS) was detected 2 sample out of 19 samples of honey collected were found to contain trace amount of chloramphenicol.

Product information:

Jiangxi (under batch number 20060424, with "best before" date 24.4.2008)

Zhuhai (with "best before" date 30.6.2008).

(Please refer to the Chinese version for the brand names in Chinese.)

Supplementary Information:

Chloramphenicol is an antibiotic. Chloramphenicol is used for treatment of different infections. The risk of developing aplastic anaemia with dietary exposure to chloramphenicol at the levels detected is extremely rare. But in Hong Kong, chloramphenicol should not be found in food.

In China standards, Chloramphenicol should be < 0.05ppm. 

Advice to consumers

  • Purchase honey products from reliable and reputable shops to ensure comply with the local legislation.
  • Maintain a balanced diet in order to avoid excessive exposure to contaminants from a small range of food items.
  • Check with your supplier for more information.

  

食物環境生署及消費者委員會早前分別抽驗十九個蜜糖樣本及三十四款蜜糖產品作抗生素測試。

結果 :

食物環境生署 : 兩個含氯霉素的產品分別為江西製造的「老蜂農鮮蜂皇漿蜜」——香港專用裝（江西出產，批號為20060424，此日期前最佳：24.4.2008）及珠海製造的香港寶生園蜂場真蜜－荔枝花蜜（此日期前最佳：30.6.2008）。

消費者委員會 : 六個樣本含氯霉素這種抗生素。

 

發言人強調有關樣本中的抗生素含量非常低，市民一般食用蜜糖產品並不會對健康造成不良影響。

 

補充資料 :

氯霉素是一種抗生素。此藥主要對骨髓有害，可令人出現與劑量反應相關的可逆轉骨髓抑制作用，和再生障礙性貧血。氯霉素可治療人類的感染病，包括眼疾。本港的食物不得含有氯霉素。國家標準, 氯霉素應當< 0.05ppm.


 給消費者的建議

可靠及信譽良好的店鋪購買蜜糖產品, 確保所進口的食物符合香港法例的規定。

保持均衡飲食，以免因偏食而攝入過量污染物。

 

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The Final Word on Nutrition (joke)

After an exhaustive review of the research literature, here's the
final word on nutrition and health:

1. Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.

2. Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.

3. Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.

4. Italians drink excessive amounts of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.

5. Germans drink beer and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.


CONCLUSION: Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is apparently what kills you !

And another one

In the beginning God covered the earth with broccoli, cauliflower and
spinach, with green, yellow and red vegetables of all kinds so Man and
Woman would live long and healthy lives.

Then using God's bountiful gifts, Satan created Dairy Ice Cream and
Magnums. And Satan said "You want hot fudge with that? And Man said
"Yes!" And Woman said "I'll have one too with chocolate chips". And
lo they gained 10 pounds.

And God created the healthy yoghurt that Woman might keep the figure
that Man found so fair. And Satan brought forth white flour from the
wheat and sugar from the cane and combined them.

And Woman went from size 12 to size 14. So God said "Try my fresh
green salad".
And Satan presented Blue Cheese dressing and garlic croutons on the
side.

And Man and Woman unfastened their belts following the repast.
God then said "I have sent you healthy vegetables and olive oil in
which to cook them". And Satan brought forth deep fried coconut king
prawns, butter-dipped lobster chunks and chicken fried steak, so big
it needed its own platter.

And Man's cholesterol went through the roof.
Then God brought forth the potato, naturally low in fat and brimming
with potassium and good nutrition. Then Satan peeled off the healthy
skin and sliced the starchy centre into chips and deep fried them in
animal fats adding copious quantities of salt. And Man put on more
pounds.

God then brought forth running shoes so that his Children might lose
those extra pounds. And Satan came forth with a cable TV with remote
control so Man would not have to toil changing the channels. And Man
and Woman laughed and cried before the flickering light and started
wearing stretch jogging suits.

Then God gave lean beef so that Man might consume fewer calories and
still satisfy his appetite. And Satan created McDonalds and the 99p
double cheeseburger.

Then Satan said "You want fries with that?" and Man replied "Yes, And
super size 'em". And Satan said "It is good." And Man and Woman
went into cardiac arrest.

God sighed......... and created quadruple by-pass surgery. And
then.........


Satan chuckled and created the National Health Service!

 

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Interesting Food Websites

Food Tales

Festivals

Some interesting Soup Recipes

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