Following is a question by the Hon Shiu Ka-fai and a written reply by the Acting Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Miss Diane Wong, in the Legislative Council today (June 17):

Question:

     Some members of the local poultry and meat wholesale and retail sectors have reflected that quite a number of members of the public are bringing not fully cooked meat, such as chicken, duck and goose, as well as seafood and aquatic products, into Hong Kong. It is learnt that some meat stalls in the Mainland have reportedly told customers that meat can be brought through customs as long as it has undergone blanching (i.e. not fully cooked). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of a monthly breakdown of the number of cases of members of the public bringing not fully cooked meat into Hong Kong in violation of the regulations and, among them, the number of cases in which prosecutions were instituted in the past four years; in respect of such prosecution cases, of an annual breakdown of the maximum, average and minimum penalties imposed on the convicted persons;

(2) as some meat stalls in the Mainland have claimed that meat can be brought through customs by customers as long as it has been blanched, whether the authorities have identified any cases in the past four years of members of the public bringing blanched meat through customs, and whether they have followed up on such cases; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(3) given that the authorities stated in their reply to my question on June 12, 2024 that advanced inspection equipment such as X-ray detector and computerised scanning system have been deployed to enhance the inspection of travellers at immigration control points, and that seven quarantine detector dogs have been deployed to various land boundary control points to assist with enforcement work, whether the authorities have currently increased or reduced inspection measures at the relevant border control points; if so, of the details;

(4) given that the authorities stated in their reply to the question referred to in (3) that they would continue to review various food safety legislations, including considering the need to strengthen regulations on the import of higher-risk aquatic products, of the progress the authorities have made in this review to date, and whether uncooked seafood and aquatic products, which are also classified as high-risk foods, will be designated as regulated food; and

(5) whether the authorities have identified any cases in which not fully cooked meat has been shipped to Hong Kong via the purchase of such food by agents involving handover activities at locations such as MTR stations; if so, of the details and the status of the follow-up?

Reply:

President,

     Pursuant to the Imported Game, Meat, Poultry and Eggs Regulations (Cap. 132AK) (the Regulations), each consignment of imported game, meat and poultry, whether for personal consumption or not, must be accompanied by a health certificate issued by the issuing entity of the place of origin or written permission from the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD). In addition, the Import and Export Ordinance (Cap. 60) requires an application for import licence from the FEHD for each consignment of imported meat and poultry. It is an offence for any member of the public to bring into Hong Kong game, meat or poultry that have not been thoroughly cooked (e.g. partially cooked or blanched) without the documents required by the law.

     The reply to the Hon Shiu Ka-fai's question is as follows:

(1) The number of non-compliance cases involving members of the public bringing game, meat or poultry into Hong Kong and the number of prosecutions instituted by the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the FEHD under the Regulations in the past four years are set out in Annex A. The maximum, minimum and average fines imposed by the court are set out in Annex B.

(2) As mentioned above, it is an offence for any member of the public to bring into Hong Kong game, meat or poultry that have not been thoroughly cooked (e.g. partially cooked or blanched) without the documents required by the law. The CFS has intercepted such cases in the past with successful convictions. Over the years, the CFS has continued to convey the aforesaid information to members of the public clearly at boundary control points (BCPs) and through various channels to avoid them from being misled by misinformation. The Government also plans to collaborate with the Mainland authorities to step up publicity efforts on this front.

(3) The Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) has spared no effort in taking forward the Smart Customs Blueprint to enhance its detection capabilities and effectiveness in combating smuggling activities. The C&ED continues to deploy various types of advanced inspection equipment including auto-detection devices for X-ray checkers and computed tomography scanners, for inspection and clearance. Furthermore, the C&ED will continue to keep abreast of the latest technological developments in inspection equipment with a view to introducing suitable devices, and proactively explore the development of high-end intelligent systems in order to provide efficient and professional customs clearance services to the public. As regards quarantine detector dogs (QDDs) of the CFS, their number remains at seven and they are deployed to various land BCPs to assist in the enforcement of the Regulations. The CFS would exercise flexibility in arranging the QDDs' operations having regard to the operational needs of individual BCPs. 

(4) The Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132) stipulates that all food for sale in Hong Kong must be fit for human consumption. The Food Business Regulation (Cap. 132X) further stipulates that anyone selling (including through online channels) restricted food as prescribed in Schedule 2 to Cap. 132X (including fresh, chilled or frozen shell fish, sashimi, and oysters to be eaten in raw state) must obtain a written permission or permit from the FEHD. The written permission or permit prescribes specific requirements on various aspects, including environmental hygiene, storage temperature, document inspection and lawful sources for individual categories of aquatic food, with a view to better ensuring food safety. In other words, by adopting a risk-based principle, the existing regulatory framework has already imposed additional regulatory requirements at the retail level that target these aquatic products of higher risks as compared to other foods. Furthermore, under the Food Safety Ordinance (Cap. 612), all food importers and distributors (including those of aquatic products) are required to register with the FEHD and maintain food transaction records so that the sources and points of sale of the food concerned are traceable in the event of a food safety incident. The Government will continue to monitor the effectiveness of the existing measures, and explore whether the enforcement or regulatory requirements should be stepped up where necessary.

(5) The legal provisions controlling the import of game, meat or poultry are applicable to cross-boundary purchases through agents, and such offenders will also be subject to prosecution. Consumers should also note that food purchased through cross-boundary agents poses higher food safety risk, as it could come from unknown sources or be kept in poor storage/transportation conditions leading to bacterial growth. The CFS will continue to collaborate closely with the C&ED to combat any unlawful acts, including the cross-boundary purchase of game, meat or poultry that have not been thoroughly cooked through agents.

Ends/Wednesday, June 17, 2026
Issued at HKT 11:45

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