Food Adulteration (Metallic Contamination) (Amendment) Regulation 2025 gazetted
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A Government spokesman said, "The amendments are to enhance consumer protection, facilitate the food trade and keep local food safety standards on par with the international standards. The standards set out in the Amendment Regulation have taken into account factors such as the standards on metallic contamination of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), relevant standards adopted by major sources of food import, local food consumption patterns and dietary practices, and the results of risk assessment."
The Amendment Regulation will add 27 new maximum levels (MLs) for specified metals (including lead, cadmium and methylmercury) in specified foods (food pairs) and update nine MLs for lead in the existing relevant food pairs, bringing the total number of MLs from 144 to 171. The Amendment Regulation provides for a grace period of 18 months, during which it would be legal for any food item to comply with the requirements of the existing Food Adulteration (Metallic Contamination) Regulations (Cap. 132V) or as amended.
"The Amendment Regulation is unlikely to affect the supply of food in Hong Kong in general, given that our proposed MLs are generally in line with the Codex's standards and the Mainland's standards. Furthermore, results from the routine food surveillance programme and additional baseline studies conducted by the Centre for Food Safety of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department indicate that the levels of metallic contamination in food available in the local market can generally comply with the proposed MLs," the spokesman said.
The Amendment Regulation will be tabled before the Legislative Council on July 2 for negative vetting.
Ends/Friday, June 27, 2025
Issued at HKT 11:00
Issued at HKT 11:00
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