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Following is a question by the Hon Li Wah-ming and a written reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today (March 11):
Question:
To avoid the health of consumers being affected due to inappropriate use of prepackaged foods, the Food and Drugs (Composition and Labelling) Regulations (Cap. 132 sub. leg. W) provide that "Where special instructions are needed in order that appropriate use may be made of a prepackaged food, such instructions shall be legibly marked or labelled on the food". However, the labels on preparation method of certain brands of milk powder produced in Japan, which are on sale in Hong Kong, are in Japanese only. Furthermore, smoking points vary with different types of olive oils, and carcinogenic substances will be produced when products with low smoking points are cooked at a high temperature. Yet, relevant descriptions or instructions are not labelled on some of these products. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it has assessed if the aforesaid examples comply with the requirement of the above provision; if the assessment result is in the negative, of the reasons for that;
(b) whether there was any food manufacturer or agent prosecuted in the past three years for selling prepackaged foods not in compliance with the requirement of the above provision; if so, of the number of such cases each year, and the penalties imposed on the convicted persons; and
(c) how the Government monitors if the food manufacturers and agents concerned comply with the requirement of the above provision?
Reply:
President,
(a) Schedule 3 of the Food and Drugs (Composition and Labelling) Regulations (Cap. 132W) (the Regulations) stipulates that where special instructions are required for the storage or in order that appropriate use may be made of a prepackaged food, such instructions shall be legibly marked or labelled on the food. Such expression can be made in either the English or the Chinese language or in both languages.
Whether special instructions are required for the storage or use of a food depends on a number of factors, including the ingredients used, the method of preparation, how the food is consumed, and characteristics of the population group who will consume the food, etc. Food manufacturers are best acquainted with the details and properties of the food they produce, and they are also responsible for providing consumers with sufficient instructions for the storage and consumption of the food.
With regard to law enforcement, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) will take into account various factors when determining whether prepackaged food should be marked or labelled with appropriate instructions for use, such as the nature of the prepackaged food, the general knowledge of consumers about the food and whether inappropriate use will cause food safety problems, etc. In short, if food safety problems may arise when special instructions for use are not followed, the food trade is required to mark or label the food with such instructions. On the other hand, for methods of use that are generally known to the average consumers (such as meat must be cooked before consumption) or methods of use that do not concern food safety (such as method of preparing general beverages for adults by diluting drink mixes), special instructions are not necessary.
As for infant formula, the trade is required to indicate the appropriate methods of preparation on the food labels in either the English or the Chinese language or in both languages, in accordance with the requirements stipulated in Schedule 3 of the Regulations, so as to prevent health problems caused by the consumption of inappropriately prepared milk. For instance, there may be adverse effects on an infant's health and growth due to excessive or insufficient intake of energy or nutrients. Regarding the possible health problems caused by cooking oil (including olive oil) heated at high temperature, there is as yet no definite scientific evidence showing that the derivatives produced by heating cooking oil will cause cancer in human. Nevertheless, the Administration has conducted risk assessment studies to address the concern on cooking food at high temperatures and provided relevant information on food safety to the public.
(b) From January 2006 up to the present, the FEHD issued about 240 warning letters and took out 150 prosecutions in relation to the requirements on food labelling under Schedule 3 of the Food and Drugs (Composition and Labelling) Regulations (Cap. 132W) (e.g. indication of appropriate durability, list of ingredients, etc.). Amongst these cases, in 2008, the FEHD found three types of Japanese infant formula with indications of their methods of preparation in Japanese only, which was in breach of the requirement on special instructions for use under Schedule 3 of the Regulations. The FEHD issued warning letters to the retailers concerned who have subsequently re-labelled the infant formula appropriately or stopped selling the products. The maximum penalty for breaching the Food and Drugs (Composition and Labelling) Regulations is a fine of $50,000 and imprisonment for six months.
(c) FEHD will monitor through a surveillance programme on whether food for sale in the local market complies with the Food and Drugs (Composition and Labelling) Regulations. FEHD checks about 55,000 prepackaged food labels annually. Items checked include name or designation of food, list of ingredients, indication of appropriate durability, name and address of manufacturer or packer, statement of special conditions for storage or instructions for use, etc. FEHD will issue warning letters or take out prosecutions for contravention of the Regulations. Besides, the public may file a complaint to FEHD for problems related to food labelling.
Ends/Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Issued at HKT 16:32
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