Students Shine at 2025/26 Statistical Project Competition for Secondary Schools in Hong Kong

Commissioner for Census and Statistics officiates at prize presentation ceremony of 2025/26 Statistical Project Competition for Secondary School Students

The Commissioner for Census and Statistics, Mr Leo Yu, officiated at the prize presentation ceremony of the 2025/26 Statistical Project Competition (SPC) for Secondary School Students co-organised by the Hong Kong Statistical Society and the Education Bureau today (June 20). Principal Assistant Secretary for Education Ms Edith Tse also attended as an officiating guest. The President of the Hong Kong Statistical Society, Professor Chan Ngai-hang; the Chief Adjudicator of the competition, Professor Cheung Ka-chun; Department of Biostatistics of City University of Hong Kong (sponsor of the competition) representative Professor Xu Jinfeng; Department of Decision Analytics and Operations of City University of Hong Kong (sponsor of the thematic prize) representative Professor Du Lilun; and Division of Science, Engineering and Health Studies of the College of Professional and Continuing Education of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (sponsor of the thematic prize) representative Dr Anthony Loh also presented prizes to the winning teams and extended their congratulations to every team member.

Addressing the prize presentation ceremony, Mr Yu emphasised that statistics is a practical, cross-disciplinary science that provides a profound reflection of social and economic conditions, serving as a vital basis for decision-making. In the era of big data and AI, data science skills have become increasingly essential. This competition not only reinforces students' statistical knowledge but also cultivates their problem-solving abilities. He said that under the dedicated guidance of principals and teachers, the entries have grown increasingly diverse in theme and continue to improve in quality, reflecting the education sector's growing emphasis on practical statistics and students' deepening interest and enthusiasm for the subject. He commended the award-winning students for accurately identifying the core of each issue, making extensive use of statistical data to support their research, and presenting their findings through concise, vivid charts that fully demonstrate strong capabilities in both data analysis and visual communication.

This edition of the competition received an encouraging response of 220 statistical projects from about 830 secondary school students, covering a broad spectrum of topics. Participating students were able to utilise official statistics as the main source of data to analyse and interpret social and economic issues in Hong Kong.

The 2025/26 SPC is the 40th edition of the competition. Mr Yu and Deputy Secretary for Education Dr Gloria Chan are the patrons of the competition. Over the past years, many statistician-grade staff members of the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) have actively participated in the organisation and professional adjudication of the SPC in the capacity of members of the Hong Kong Statistical Society, with the aim of improving statistical literacy among secondary school students and promoting the application and importance of statistics in society. This fully demonstrates that the C&SD attaches great importance and commitment to nurturing young talent.

The key objectives of the competition are to promote the interest of secondary school students in research methods, statistics and statistical techniques; encourage students to understand the local community in a scientific and objective manner through the proper use of statistics; and promote a sense of civic awareness.

Members of the public are welcome to visit the webpage of the competition for the list of winners this year (www.hkss.org.hk/index.php/spc$en).

The Commissioner for Census and Statistics, Mr Leo Yu (front row, fourth left) and Principal Assistant Secretary for Education Ms Edith Tse (front row, fourth right) are pictured with guests and the Champion of the Junior and Senior Section at the prize presentation ceremony of the 2025/26 Statistical Project Competition for Secondary School Students today (June 20). Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Commissioner for Census and Statistics, Mr Leo Yu (front row, fifth left) and Principal Assistant Secretary for Education Ms Edith Tse (front row, sixth left) are pictured with other prize presenters and the winning teams at the prize presentation ceremony of the 2025/26 Statistical Project Competition for Secondary School Students today (June 20). Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Commissioner for Census and Statistics, Mr Leo Yu (first left), presents prizes to the Champion of the Senior Section at the prize presentation ceremony of the 2025/26 Statistical Project Competition for Secondary School Students today (June 20). Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Commissioner for Census and Statistics, Mr Leo Yu, delivers a speech at the prize presentation ceremony of the 2025/26 Statistical Project Competition for Secondary School Students today (June 20). Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

CFS urges public not to consume two kinds of bottled olive oil products that may contain mineral oil

The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (August 11) urged the public not to consume two kinds of bottled olive oil products, as the products might contain mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH). For the sake of prudence, the CFS urged the public not to consume the products concerned, regardless of batches. The trade should stop using or selling the affected products immediately if they possess any of them.

Product details are as follows:

Brand: Olitalia

Product names: Olitalia Pomace Olive Oil 1L

Olitalia Pomace Olive Oil 5L

Distributor: Lorence & Company Limited

Place of packagingItaly

A spokesman for the CFS said, "The CFS proactively monitored through the Food Incident Surveillance System and noted an announcement issued by the Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain of Belgium indicating that the above-mentioned products were detected with mineral oil MOAH at levels exceeding the relevant standard. All batches of products concerned are being recalled in Belgium."

Preliminary investigation revealed that the distributor concerned had distributed the affected products. As a precautionary measure, the distributor has voluntarily stopped sales, removed the affected products from shelves and initiated a recall. Members of the public may call the distributor's hotline at 2293 9398 during office hours for enquiries about the recall.

According to the Mineral Oil in Food Regulations (Cap 132AR), no person shall sell for human consumption any article of food containing any mineral oil, unless the presence of mineral oil in any article of food is due to its use as a lubricant or greasing agent on some surface with which the article of food comes into contact in the course of its preparation (at levels not exceeding 0.2% by weight of the article of food).

The CFS has collected over 3 000 edible oil samples for chemical and microbiological testing from 2023 to July 2026, under its routine Food Surveillance Programme. Except for one unsatisfactory sample that was announced earlier in which it was found to contain metallic contaminant, the remaining samples were found to be satisfactory.

The CFS has contacted the Belgium authority over the incident and will continue to follow up on the incident and take appropriate action to safeguard food safety and public health. The investigation is ongoing.

Source: AI-found images