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LCQ1: Ensuring food safety
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     Following is a question by the Dr Hon Helena Wong and a reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, in the Legislative Council today (February 4):

Question:

     Some food safety concern groups have relayed to me that the standards for maximum permitted concentration of certain metals present in specified foods under the Food Adulteration (Metallic Contamination) Regulations (the Regulations) are outdated and far laxer than the relevant standards set by the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC).  For example, the maximum permitted concentration of lead as prescribed in the Regulations is six milligrams per kilogram, which is much higher than the standard of 0.1 milligram per kilogram set by CAC, and some metal content standards in the Regulations are only classified by solid and liquid food with no specific standards set for different types of food.  On the other hand, the Food and Health Bureau (FHB) told this Council in October 2007 that it would formulate a set of comprehensive and clear food safety standards that was applicable to Hong Kong.  Also, FHB was mindful that there was always a need to review the food safety standards from time to time, with a view to dovetailing with the latest international practice and development.  In this regard, the Finance Committee of this Council approved in January last year the creation of one permanent post of Administrative Officer Staff Grade B in the Food Branch of FHB to enhance its work in ensuring food safety and other related policies and measures.  The duties of the post holder include reviewing the safety standards for heavy metal content in food.  In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the date on which the safety standards for heavy metal content in various types of food set out in the Regulations were last revised, and the details of the revisions;

(2) whether the authorities have, after the creation of the aforesaid permanent post, started the review of the safety standards for heavy metal content in food; if so, of the details, and whether the review includes amending the relevant provisions of the Regulations; if so, of the legislative timetable; and

(3) whether it has assessed the impact of the ongoing adoption of the safety standards for heavy metal content in food that are laxer than international standards on the health of the members of the public, particularly children; if it has assessed, of the details?

Reply:

President,

     Ensuring food safety has always been one of the top priorities of the Food and Health Bureau (FHB).  We are committed to enhancing food safety in Hong Kong through a multi-pronged approach, including updating the food safety standards in legislation from time to time and putting the requisite food types or items under regulation.  This will ensure that our regulatory regime is in line with the best international practices and the food consumption behaviour of the public, thereby safeguarding public health.

     In the few years since 2008, the Government had introduced or amended 14 pieces of legislation relating to food safety, including:

(a) amending the legislation to update the standards for preservatives and antioxidants in food and to regulate the use of melamine in food in 2008;  

(b) legislating in 2009 to empower the Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene to prohibit the import and supply of problem food and to order the recall of such food;  

(c) updating the list of sweeteners in 2010 for regulation of their use;  

(d) enacting the Food Safety Ordinance (Cap. 612) and amending the legislation to prohibit the presence of three exogenous estrogens in dried milk, condensed milk and reconstituted milk in 2011;

(e) enacting the Pesticide Residues in Food Regulation (Cap. 132CM) in 2012; and

(f) legislating to regulate the export of powdered formula in 2013 to protect the health of local infants and young children.  

     FHB obtained the approval of the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council (LegCo) in January 2014 to create one permanent post of Administrative Officer Staff Grade B (AOSGB).  The new post strengthens the senior directorate support to cope with the increasing workload and to pursue amendments to and implementation of relevant legislation to safeguard public health.  FHB, in collaboration with the Centre for Food Safety (CFS), has in the past year since the post was created, effectively carried out the following work relating to the updating of food safety legislation:-  

(a) tabled an amendment regulation at the LegCo in June 2014 to regulate the nutritional composition of infant formula and mandate nutrition labelling of infant formula, follow-up formula and prepackaged food for infants and young children under the age of 36 months.  LegCo completed the scrutiny of the amendment regulation in October 2014;    

(b) brought the Pesticide Residues in Food Regulation (Cap. 132CM) into effect in August 2014;

(c) published a consultation document in January 2015 to consult the public on a proposed regulatory framework to enhance the regulation of nutrition and health claims on formula products and prepackaged foods for infants and young children under the age of 36 months in Hong Kong through legislation; and

(d) drafted the amendments to the Imported Game, Meat and Poultry Regulations  (Cap. 132AK) to extend the import control regime to cover poultry eggs, with a view to strengthening the control of avian influenza and enhancing the food safety of poultry eggs.  We intend to table at LegCo the relevant legislative amendments in the first half of 2015.

     Besides, a few food incidents occurred in 2014 caused widespread media attention and public concern.  Such incidents include the supply of suspected problematic meat products by Shanghai Husi Food Company in July, and the Taiwan substandard lard incident which occurred between September and November.  The holder of the newly created AOSGB post played an effective role in handling the two incidents by co-ordinating the response of various departments (including CFS) and providing the required policy steer and resources.  In particular, he co-ordinated the issue of three food safety orders by CFS in the Taiwan substandard lard incident.  FHB also briefed the relevant LegCo Panel on the two incidents on three separate occasions.  In response to these incidents, FHB has decided to accord priority to reviewing the regulation of cooked meat and to introducing legislative proposals to step up regulation of the safety of edible oil and the recycling of waste cooking oil in Hong Kong.  These are also two of the major initiatives of FHB this year as announced in the Policy Agenda of the 2015 Policy Address.  

     My reply to the various parts of the question is as follows:  

(1)and (2) The Food Adulteration (Metallic Contamination) Regulations (Cap. 132V) (the Regulations) regulates the level of metallic contaminants in food and prescribes the maximum permitted concentration of seven specified metals present in specific food types.  The seven specified metals are antimony, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury and tin.  Their respective maximum permitted concentration is set out at the Annex.  Although the maximum permitted concentrations have not been modified since the enactment of the Regulations in 1983, the current Regulations has already contained provisions which explicitly prohibit the import, manufacturing and sale of any food containing any metal in such amount as to be dangerous or prejudicial to health.  Offenders are liable to a maximum fine of $50,000 and imprisonment up to six months.  In order to bring the provisions into effect to safeguard food safety, CFS will conduct a risk assessment to determine whether a food item contains a metal in such amount as to be dangerous or prejudicial to health.  In doing so, CFS will take into account the health effect of consuming that food item, as well as the probable cumulative health effect of consuming such item in ordinary quantity.

     We have noted the discrepancies between certain metallic contamination standards and the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex) standards.  Some standards are more stringent than those of Codex (such as the cadmium limits in leafy vegetable and rice) while some are more lenient (such as the lead limits in beef, pork and mutton).  Moreover, the food classification under the laws of Hong Kong and that adopted by Codex are different.

     In this connection, FHB has embarked on the preparatory work of amending the Regulations.  CFS has set up a working group under the Expert Committee on Food Safety to offer views on the legislative amendments.  The current approach of the Government is to formulate proposals for amendments to the Regulations on the basis of the Codex standards, having regard to local food consumption behaviour.   Since the proposals will involve a wide variety of food, CFS is carefully working out details of the amendments.  FHB plans to consult the public on the proposed amendments to the Regulations within this year, and aims to put forward detailed legislative proposals as soon as possible after collating the views received during the consultation period.

(3) Under the risk-based Food Surveillance Programme, CFS takes about 3 800 food samples each year for testing of metallic contaminants to ensure that food on sale in Hong Kong complies with the relevant legal requirements.  The number of samples with unsatisfactory results in 2012, 2013 and 2014 was 20, 7 and 8 respectively.  As mentioned in parts (1) and (2) of the reply, the current Regulations explicitly prohibit the import, manufacturing and sale of any food containing any metal in such amount as to be dangerous or prejudicial to health.  Before the implementation of the amended Regulations, CFS will continue to conduct risk assessments to ascertain whether the consumption of the food being tested is dangerous or prejudicial to health to ensure food safety.

     Separately, CFS completed a total diet study on metallic contaminants in 2013, which estimated dietary exposure of the local population to metallic contaminants such as antimony, cadmium, lead, methylmercury, nickel and tin etc., and assessed the associated health risks.  The results revealed that dietary exposure of ordinary citizens to these metallic contaminants was all below the respective health-based guidance values and was therefore unlikely to pose any health risks.

Ends/Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Issued at HKT 14:40

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