In order to provide the people in Macao with diversified fresh and live food products of better quality and fit their traditional habit of eating fresh chickens, with the support of the General Administration of Customs of People's Republic of China, as well as the cooperation and coordination between the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) and the Gongbei Customs District, the first batch of about 2,000 “fresh chickens” arrived in Macao for sale on February 2, through the Macao port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge after passing the smooth process of rapid customs clearance and priority inspection and quarantine. The first batch of “fresh chickens” has been ordered by supermarkets, restaurants, market vendors and the public.
The “fresh chickens” supplied to Macao are immediately transported in cold chain transport vehicles after being slaughtered and packaged, and reach the port directly through the entire cold chain distribution process. The Mainland customs adopt rapid customs clearance, and IAM arranges inspection personnel to prepare at the port in advance. When the cold chain transport vehicles carrying the fresh chickens arrive, the inspection personnel carry out priority inspection for them, checking the temperature of the cold chain transport vehicles and the “fresh chickens” and verifying cargo certificates and other documents, for the clearance to be completed as quickly as possible to ensure that the “fresh chickens” arrive in the Macao market for sale within 1.5 hours after leaving the factories.
The “fresh chickens” supplied to Macao must have nose rings showing the date and time of slaughter, and be stored and displayed in refrigerated cabinets. Product information, the date and time of slaughter, etc. must also be printed on the outer packaging.
IAM will continue to carry out health inspections as well as testing of random samples of retail establishments of fresh and live food, with the aim of ensuring the food safety of such food products in Macao. Meanwhile, IAM reminds consumers to patronise the businesses with the registration certificate for retail establishments of fresh and live food or the stalls in the markets, check the integrity of the packaging, and pay attention to the date and time of production when purchasing the chickens, so as to ensure their safety and quality.
