Replies to LegCo questions

LCQ16: Canned food

Following is a question by the Hon Lau Kong-wah and a written reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today (May 21):

Question:

Regarding food safety of canned food, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) of the total number of complaints received in the past three years from members of the public alleging that they felt unwell following the consumption of canned food;

(b) of the details of its work in conducting regular laboratory sample tests on canned food products sold at supermarkets and small stores, the number of canned food samples found in the past three years to have failed to meet the food safety requirements and the relevant details, as well as the follow-up actions taken, including the number of warning letters issued to the retailers concerned; and

(c) whether it has assessed if the situation of retailers selling canned food products not imported through local dealers is common at present, and as such canned food products may not have gone through the food quality inspection procedure at their places of origin, whether a greater number of canned food samples have been collected by the authorities for testing?

Reply:

Madam President,

(a) In the past three years, the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department received a total of 12 complaints relating to discomfort following the consumption of canned food. Upon receiving complaints, the CFS will ask the complainants to provide detailed information relating to the purchase, handling and consumption of the canned food, collect food residues, and collect samples from the relevant sellers for testing. After the investigations, it could not be confirmed that the abovementioned 12 cases were connected with the consumption of canned food.

(b) To ensure food safety, the CFS takes food samples at import, wholesale and retail levels regularly for chemical and microbiological testings. Since 2007, the CFS has started to adopt a three-tier approach to food surveillance, comprising of routine food surveillance, targeted food surveillance and seasonal food surveillance. Food samples collected under food surveillance cover various types of food, including canned food.

In the past three years, the CFS has taken about 2,300 canned food samples for testing, of which some 1,900 samples were collected for chemical testing for preservatives, colouring matters, veterinary drug residues etc. while some 400 samples for microbiological testing. For microbiological testing, all the testing results of the food samples were satisfactory. As for chemical testing, the results of 12 canned food samples were unsatisfactory. The 12 unsatisfactory samples were canned food manufactured in different places including the Mainland and countries in Asia and North America. Chemicals detected included trace amount of veterinary drug residues and preservatives at a level slightly exceeding the limit, but adverse health effect is unlikely upon normal consumption.

The CFS has traced the source and distribution channels of the 12 canned food with unsatisfactory testing results and made public the results immediately. The CFS has also issued warning letters to relevant parties requiring them to stop selling and recall the problem food products forthwith.

(c) In Hong Kong, there is no restriction on the source of canned food for sale. The Administration therefore has not assessed the situation of the sale of food items not imported through local dealers. Under the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap 132), all food (including canned food) sold in Hong Kong must be fit for human consumption and meet the requirements of the subsidiary legislation relating to food safety and food standards. Food importers, wholesalers and retailers all bear the responsibility to ensure that the food they sell is fit for human consumption and meet the relevant legal requirements.

The CFS takes into account the latest results of local and overseas risk assessment in determining the types of samples to be collected, the frequency and the number of samples for testing. The sampling priority is under constant review of the CFS, and the CFS will conduct surveillance on specific food items and hazards as necessary.

Moreover, the Administration is formulating the Food Safety Bill, under which all food importers and distributors will be required to register with the Food Safety Authority. The food business is also required to keep record on the source and distribution of all food (food retailers are only required to keep relevant record on the suppliers of the food), so that in the event of a food incident, the Administration can trace the source and distribution of the problem food more promptly and take appropriate measures to minimise its impact. The Bill will also empower the Food Safety Authority to issue an order to prohibit the import or sale of the problem food and to issue a food recall order when the situation warrants. The proposed measures will facilitate the Authority in preventing the problem food from entering the market or remaining on market shelves when it has reasonable grounds to believe that the problem food might be injurious to public health.


Ends/Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Issued at HKT 13:31

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