Hong Kong officials from the center for food safety (CFS) were satisfied with the result of an joint operation to inspect imported Chinese mainland vegetables distributed through direct sale, a CFS official said here Thursday.

The CFS and the Customs and Excise Department recently conducted a month-long, from Jan. 14 to Feb. 15, joint operation at the Man Kam To Control Point to monitor vegetables imported from Chinese mainland through direct sale.

"The CFS and Customs inspected 114 such vehicles at the Man Kam To Control Point, examined the seal on them, checked the pesticide certificates and inspection cards issued by the relevant mainland authorities, and collected 209 vegetable samples for tests for pesticide residues," a CFS spokesman said.

"During the operation, there was no report of cases involving a vegetable source not tallying with accompanying documents. All the samples tested for pesticide residues were also found to be satisfactory. Also, no smuggling of other commodities by vegetable vehicles was found by Customs."

The spokesman stressed that vegetables imported from the mainland had to undergo the same stringent inspection regime whether they were distributed through local wholesalers or direct sale.

The CFS will continue to work with Customs and other relevant government departments to combat any illegal activities and to ensure food safety.

(Xinhua News Agency February 20, 2009)