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Following is a question by the Hon Wong Kwok-hing and a written reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, in the Legislative Council today (May 4):
Question:
In response to a nuclear radiation leakage incident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan in 2011 (Fukushima nuclear incident), the Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene has issued an order under section 78B of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132) to prohibit the import of certain fresh produce, milk, milk beverages and milk powder from the five most affected prefectures of Japan, namely Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Chiba and Gunma. A scheme of targeted radiation testing on all food products imported from Japan has also been carried out since then. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the types and quantity of those Japanese food products from which excessive radiation levels were detected after such food products had been put on the market, each year since the Fukushima nuclear incident;
(2) as it has been reported that the food testing standards prescribed by the authorities in respect of certain radionuclides (e.g. caesium) in imported food products are lower than those prescribed by other jurisdictions (including Mainland China, South Korea and Taiwan), of the reasons for that;
(3) as it has been reported that radionuclides strontium and polonium will cause leukaemia and lung cancer respectively, why the authorities have not enacted legislation to regulate the permitted levels of such radionuclides in food products; whether the authorities will include strontium and polonium as items to be tested on food products imported from Japan; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(4) as it has been reported that at present, the authorities only prohibit the import of food products from the aforesaid five prefectures of Japan, while other jurisdictions (e.g. Mainland China, South Korea and the United States) ban the import of food products from more places in Japan, of the reasons and justifications for the authorities adopting an approach which is less stringent than other jurisdictions; whether the authorities will expand the ban on imported food products to cover more places in Japan; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(5) as it has been reported that in respect of certain food products imported from Japan and sold on the market, the description of their places of origin is very general (e.g. only the broad term "Japan" is shown) without showing the names of the prefectures and cities where the food products concerned were produced, and in some other food products, wrong places of origin are shown, whether the authorities have assessed if the importers and retailers concerned have contravened the relevant food labelling requirements; if they have assessed and the outcome is in the negative, whether they will enact legislation to require that the package labels of imported food products must bear detailed description of places of origin; if the assessment outcome is in the affirmative, of the legislation and penalties involved; of the number of persons who have been prosecuted and convicted since the Fukushima nuclear incident for committing relevant offences and the punishments imposed by the court on them in general?
Reply:
President,
Following the Fukushima nuclear power plant incident in Japan in 2011, the Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene (DFEH) issued an order under section 78B of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132) on March 24, 2011 to prohibit the import of vegetables and fruits, milk, milk beverages and milk powder from the five most affected prefectures of Japan, namely Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Chiba and Gunma. The import of all chilled or frozen game, meat and poultry, poultry eggs and all live, chilled or frozen aquatic products from the five prefectures is prohibited, unless they are accompanied by a certificate issued by the competent authority of Japan attesting that the radiation levels do not exceed the guideline levels. The order is still in force. Anyone found to have contravened any terms of the order is liable to a maximum fine of $100,000 and imprisonment for up to 12 months.
The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) has all along enhanced the surveillance of the radiation levels of food imported from Japan according to a risk-based approach. The CFS has been testing the radiation levels of every consignment of food products imported from Japan. Only food products with satisfactory test results will be released for sale in the market. Besides, the CFS, through the regular food surveillance programme, takes food samples at the retail level for radiation tests to monitor the radiation levels of food products to safeguard food safety.
My reply to the questions of the Hon Wong Kwok-hing is as follows:
(1) Following the Fukushima nuclear power plant incident in Japan in 2011, the CFS immediately stepped up the surveillance of the radiation levels of food imported from Japan. As at April 15, 2016, the CFS tested more than 320 000 samples of Japanese food. Since the said order came into effect, the test results of all samples were satisfactory. The CFS also updates the test results on food imported from Japan and the latest figures on its website every working day.
(2) and (3) The CFS has referred to the standards laid down by the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex) (Note) in the Guideline Levels for Radionuclides in Foods Contaminated Following a Nuclear or Radiological Emergency (the guideline levels) when testing the radiation levels of food. The guideline levels are internationally recognised standards for protecting public health.
The Government has set up an Expert Committee on Food Safety (Expert Committee) under the CFS to advise the DFEH on the formulation of food safety strategies and measures. According to the Expert Committee, three radionuclides, namely Iodine-131 (I-131), Caesium-134 (Cs-134) and Caesium-137 (Cs-137), are the main radionuclides posing health risks and are most relevant in the acute phase of nuclear emergencies. The Expert Committee also considered the adoption of the Codex guideline levels by the CFS appropriate in addressing the public concern over food safety. Besides, the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap.132) also stipulates that all food for sale in Hong Kong (including the food imported from Japan) must be fit for human consumption.
(4) In the wake of Fukushima nuclear power plant incident, individual countries or regions have implemented measures deemed fit to their risk assessment results and local circumstances. As such, the places of origin, the number of prefectures and categories of food products covered under their import control measures imposed on Japanese food may differ from those implemented in Hong Kong. Generally speaking, compared with Australia, New Zealand and Canada (which have now lifted all the import control imposed after the incident) as well as Singapore (which has only imposed limited control over the import of food products from Fukushima and imposed conditions on the import of food products from certain prefectures), the import control of Japanese food products exercised by the Mainland, Taiwan, Korea and Hong Kong is more stringent.
Regarding the control measures implemented by the United States (US), the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) imposes import restriction on Japanese foods (Import Alert 99-33) by referring to the list of food products that are prohibited from export compiled by the Japanese Government based on the results of their on-going food surveillance. When the Japanese Government updates the list, which can be found on the website of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan, the FDA will make changes to the import alert accordingly. In other words, the Japanese food products and prefectures subject to import restrictions in the US mirror the export prohibition measures taken by Japan.
As mentioned in paragraph 1 above, following the radiation leakage at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan in 2011, the DFEH issued an order to prohibit the import of a number of food products from the five most affected prefectures, namely Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Chiba and Gunma. The CFS has also been closely monitoring and testing food imported from Japan for radiation at the import, wholesale and retail levels. In the case of Hong Kong, apart from the food items prohibited from export by the Japanese authority, the food prohibited from importing into Hong Kong also include those covered by the order issued by the DFEH.
Moreover, as mentioned in paragraphs 3(2) and 3(3), the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132) stipulates that all food for sale in Hong Kong must be fit for human consumption. This requirement applies to all imported food (including Japanese food), regardless of whether the food is subject to the restrictions imposed by the Japanese authority or the order issued by the DFEH.
Having regard to the latest development, we will keep in view the control on food imported from Japan, taking into account assessments made by international agencies such as the International Atomic Energy Agency, control measures implemented by other jurisdictions, local food surveillance results, handling of the Japanese authority in the Fukushima nuclear power plant incident and other relevant factors. Generally speaking, while we accord top priority to food safety, we also need to take into account the latest development of the above factors and the requirements of the World Trade Organization.
(5) At the import control level, during the CFS's routine surveillance of each consignment of food imported from Japan for radiation testing, importers are required to provide the CFS with relevant information including the places of origin and the prefectures concerned to facilitate the CFS's identification of food from the five Japanese prefectures on which import restrictions are imposed so as to safeguard food safety.
On labelling, under the Food and Drugs (Composition and Labelling) Regulations (Cap. 132W), the name and detailed address of the manufacturer/packer should be provided on the label of prepackaged food. Otherwise, the prepackaged food should be labelled with an indication of its country of origin, together with:
(i) the name of the distributor or brand owner in Hong Kong and the address of the registered or principal office of the distributor or brand owner in Hong Kong, with the full address of the manufacturer or packer of the prepackaged food in its country of origin provided in writing to the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) in advance; or
(ii) a code marking identifying the manufacturer or packer in its country of origin, with particulars of the code marking and of the manufacturer or packer to whom it relates provided in writing to the FEHD in advance.
If prepackaged food labelled with an indication of its country of origin is in compliance with the above legislative requirement, indication of the prefecture may serve as supplementary information on the label.
On traceability of food, the Food Safety Ordinance (Cap. 612) requires food traders to maintain proper transaction records to ensure that the CFS can trace the source of food effectively and take prompt action in the event of a food incident. Even if the information of the food manufacturer or packer is not shown on the food label, with the transaction records kept by food traders, the CFS can still trace the source of food if necessary, thus safeguarding public health.
According to section 61 of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132), if any person falsely describes a food or misleads as to the nature, substance or quality of the food on the label of the food sold by him, he shall be guilty of an offence and be liable to a maximum fine of $50,000 and imprisonment for up to six months. In addition, according to the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (Cap. 362), "trade description", in relation to goods, means an indication, direct or indirect, and in whatever forms and by whatever means, with respect to the goods or any part of the goods, including claims as to place of manufacture or country of origin. The Trade Descriptions Ordinance does not make it mandatory to specify information on goods or their packaging. However, in the course of trade or business, all trade descriptions marked on or attached to goods must be true and correct. Making a false or misleading statement about goods to a material degree may constitute an offence of false trade description. Any person who contravenes the relevant provision of the Trade Descriptions Ordinance is liable on conviction to a maximum fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for up to five years.
In the CFS's regular inspection of Japanese food, no irregularity in relation to labelling has been found so far.
Note: The Codex Alimentarius Commission was co-established by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization to serve as an international authority to set food-related standards and guidelines for protecting the health of consumers and ensuring fair trade practices in the food trade.
Ends/Wednesday, May 4, 2016
Issued at HKT 17:42
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