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A spokesman for the Food and Health Bureau (FHB) announced today (January 10) that the number of processing plants in the Mainland eligible to supply chilled beef to Hong Kong has been increased from one to six. The additional five processing plants are located in Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang and Chongqing respectively.
To ensure food safety, all chilled beef imported from the Mainland must come from the processing plants registered for export of chilled beef under the State General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ). These processing plants are recommended by the AQSIQ to the Centre for Food Safety (CFS), with further on-site and audit inspections conducted by CFS staff to ensure compliance with the relevant food hygiene and safety requirements.
"In December 2010, the FHB reached an agreement with the AQSIQ on the arrangement for the import of Mainland chilled beef into Hong Kong. Since then, both sides have been in active discussion with a view to increasing the number of eligible processing plants supplying chilled beef to Hong Kong. The five aforesaid processing plants were recommended by the AQSIQ. The CFS has completed its inspection of the processing plants and their respective cattle farms to ensure compliance with the relevant food hygiene and safety standards," the spokesman said.
"The import of chilled beef from the Mainland is conducive to stabilising the supply of beef in Hong Kong, thus maintaining food prices at a stable level."
Detailed information about the six processing plants in the Mainland eligible for supplying chilled beef to Hong Kong is available on the CFS website (www.cfs.gov.hk/english/links/links_rs/links_rs.html).
The Government strives to maintain the openness and competitiveness of the local non-staple food market. To this end, the FHB has been actively seeking to increase food sources so as to diversify food types. At present, chilled pork, chilled chicken and other chilled poultry meat (including geese, duck and pigeon) are imported from the Mainland into Hong Kong.
Importers who are interested in importing chilled beef from the Mainland can proceed with the application for import by obtaining an application form at the Food Importer/Distributor Registration and Import Licensing Office of CFS in Room 119, 1/F, 258 Queen's Road East, Wan Chai, or by downloading the form from the CFS website www.cfs.gov.hk/english/public/public_fi/files/fehb161.pdf. Enquiries can be made on 2156 3012.
Ends/Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Issued at HKT 12:01
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