LCQ3: Regulating "premade dishes"
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Question:
It is learnt that in recent years, many restaurants have purchased "premade dishes" from external sources or produced them in-house to enhance efficiency and reduce operating costs. However, Hong Kong currently has no dedicated legislation governing the production, transportation and sale of premade dishes, and protecting the relevant consumer rights. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of cases involving food safety problems in restaurants received by the Government in each of the past three years and, among them, the number of those involving premade dishes;
(2) as the State Administration for Market Regulation and five other ministries jointly issued the Notice of Strengthening the Regulation of the Food Safety of Premade Dishes and Promoting the High-Quality Development of the Industry last year, which for the first time clearly defines premade dishes and their scope and enhances the regulation of the food safety of premade dishes, whether the authorities will make reference to such practices in order to strengthen the regulation of premade dishes; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3) as some consumers are of the view that they have the right to know whether the food provided by restaurants is a premade dish before patronizing them, whether the authorities will consider requiring restaurants to label food that is a premade dish; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
"Prepared dishes" is a relatively new term which has yet to have a standardised international definition. Interpretations of what constitutes "prepared dishes" can vary among different members of the trade and consumers. Generally, "prepared dishes" refer to finished or semi-finished foods upon processing and cooking, including dishes that only require reheating before consumption.
From the perspective of food safety, all food items sold in Hong Kong, regardless of whether they are "prepared dishes" or not, are subject to stringent regulation and they must comply with the requirements as set out in food safety legislation. Local food factories must obtain a food factory licence from the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) under the Food Business Regulation. For foods not produced locally, the Food Safety Ordinance stipulates that food importers and distributors shall keep food records to ensure that the Government can trace the source of food items quickly and effectively for appropriate follow-up actions.
Certain high-risk imported foods are subject to specific legislation and must be accompanied by a health certificate issued by the competent authority of the place of origin and an import permission issued by the FEHD. Restaurants must comply with all relevant legislation and licencing requirements when serving food. In the event of food safety complaints or incidents, the FEHD will conduct investigations and institute prosecutions under the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance.
In other words, different types of food, including "prepared dishes", are regulated by existing food safety legislation at all stages from production and import to sale. To assist the trade in understanding the pertinent requirements, the FEHD published the Food Hygiene Code, which spells out the food hygiene and safety standards that food premises must follow based on statutory and licencing conditions. The Code covers various aspects of production, handling, delivery, storage, and sale of different types of food, and offers recommendations and guidelines for meeting these standards.
Regarding the questions raised by the Hon Wong, my reply is as follows:
(1) From 2023 until August of this year, the FEHD performed over 446 000 inspections at licensed/permitted food premises and instituted a total of 4 215 prosecutions involving various food safety irregularities. As food premises serving or not serving "prepared dishes" shall meet the same food safety and environmental hygiene conditions, the FEHD does not keep separate prosecution figures specifically related to "prepared dishes".
Besides, the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) collects food samples for testing at import, wholesale and retail levels under a risk-based principle on an ongoing basis. During the same period, the CFS tested about 1 350 prepackaged food samples for chemical, microbiological, and radiation levels. Except for one sample with unsatisfactory result in the microbiological test, the results of all other samples were satisfactory. The satisfactory rate is comparable with the overall rate for CFS's Food Surveillance Programme.
(2) The Mainland authorities issued the Notice of Strengthening the Regulation of the Food Safety of Premade Dishes and Promoting the High-Quality Development of the Industry in March last year. The Notice proposed the formulation of food safety standards for "prepared dishes", along with various measures to strengthen the regulation of the food safety of "prepared dishes" and promote the high-quality development of the "prepared dishes" industry. In June this year, the CFS also released Prepared Dishes - Food Safety Advice for Food Businesses and Consumers to assist the trade in taking appropriate measures for producing and supplying safe and hygienic "prepared dishes". For instance, the food trade is reminded to cook and reheat "prepared dishes" thoroughly, and make sure that the cold chain is well maintained during transportation and storage to prevent "prepared dishes" from being exposed to the "Temperature Danger Zone" (i.e. between 4°C and 60°C), etc.
(3) The Notice issued by the Mainland authorities calls for stepping up the promotion of explicit labelling of "prepared dishes" in the catering sector, yet such a recommendation is an encouragement by nature. It is not mandatory with any binding effect. From the perspective of food safety, the safety of food served in restaurants does not depend on whether or not prepared ingredients are used. Imposing a mandatory labelling requirement on restaurants will not lead to further improvement in food safety.
As for consumers who wish to know whether a restaurant serves "prepared dishes" before visiting, as mentioned earlier, the understanding and expectations of individuals regarding what constitutes "prepared dishes" differ. For instance, should any dish containing prepared ingredients be regarded as a "prepared dish"? In some cases where only certain ingredients are prepared while the rest are made freshly on-site, should the dish still be classified as a "prepared dish"? Is it reasonable and practical to require restaurants to list the prepared ingredients of each dish separately? These are factors that we have to take into account.
In reality, given the wide variety of ingredients and cooking methods, it is challenging to establish a precise and clear definition of "prepared dishes". If a mandatory labelling requirement for "prepared dishes" is imposed on "prepared dishes", not only would it present enforcement challenges, but also potentially give rise to disagreements between restaurants and consumers.
President, with advancements in processing and packaging technologies, prepared foods and ingredients have continued to become better in various aspects of preservation, sterilisation, quality and taste. We support the food trade's endeavours to innovate and change to meet market demands as well as to keep optimising the food supply chain.
As I mentioned earlier, the term "prepared dishes" is relatively recent, and the Mainland is researching the establishment of national standards for the food safety of these dishes. There are also media reports on an upcoming plan by the National Health Commission to solicit public views on its draft legislation on National Standards for the Food Safety of Premade Dishes. We will closely monitor the development of "prepared dishes" both on the Mainland and locally, as well as implement suitable measures to safeguard public health and promote high-quality development of the food trade.
Thank you, President.
Ends/Thursday, September 25, 2025
Issued at HKT 11:33
Issued at HKT 11:33
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