Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ19: "Health food" product regulation
Following is a question by the Ir Dr Hon Raymond Ho and a written reply by the
Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today
(February 4):
Question:
Regarding the regulation of the sale and labelling of health food products, will
the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the existing measures in place to ensure that the labels on the packaging
of health food products truthfully indicate the ingredients of the products
concerned;
(b) of the existing regulatory measures prohibiting sellers from making
exaggerated statements or misrepresentations in advertisements regarding the
efficacy of health food products;
(c) whether it will consider making it mandatory for sellers to place a warning
notice of "excessive consumption may lead to undesirable side effects" on a
prominent position of the packaging of health food products; if it will not, of
the reasons for that; and
(d) whether it will step up the relevant publicity work, by broadcasting
"Announcements in the Public Interest" on radio and television as well as
through other media (such as the websites of government departments), to provide
members of the public with information on health maintenance and things to note
when consuming health food products?
Reply:
President,
(a) There is no universally accepted definition of "health food" products.
Different terms such as dietary supplements, nutraceuticals, designed foods,
functional foods and natural health products are used on different occasions to
refer to similar products. In Hong Kong, "health food" products generally sold
on the market, depending on their ingredients, are regulated by the following
ordinances:
(i) "Health food" products which contain medicines are regulated under the
Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance (Cap 138). These medicines must meet the
requirements in respect of safety, quality and efficacy before they can be
registered. They should also be labelled with such particulars as ingredients,
dosage and method of usage. Inspectors of the Department of Health (DH) inspect
pharmacies and medicine shops frequently to see if there are false descriptions
or descriptions which are different from those approved when the products were
registered. Besides, samples of medicines and "health food" products sold on the
market are taken for tests by the DH from time to time. Actions are also taken
to investigate and follow up complaints. If the products are found to contain
unregistered western medicines after investigation and testing, the DH will take
legal actions and require the shops to recall their products immediately.
(ii) All products which fall within the definition of proprietary Chinese
medicines (pCms) under the Chinese Medicine Ordinance (Cap 549), i.e. products
which are composed solely of Chinese medicines as active ingredients and for
treatment and health promotion purposes, are regulated under the Chinese
Medicine Ordinance. Such products must meet the requirements in respect of
safety, quality and efficacy before they can be registered. The Chinese Medicine
Ordinance requires the labelling of registered pCms to include main ingredients,
method of usage, dosage, packing specifications, place of production, etc. All
pCms must comply with the statutory requirements after full implementation of
the provisions relating to the registration of pCms.
(iii) "Health food" products which cannot be classified as Chinese medicine or
western medicine are regulated under the Public Health and Municipal Services
Ordinance (Cap 132) as general food products. The Public Health and Municipal
Services Ordinance requires the manufacturers and sellers of food to ensure that
their products are fit for human consumption and comply with the requirements in
respect of food safety, food standards and labelling. According to the Food and
Drugs (Composition and Labelling) Regulations (Cap 132W) under the Ordinance,
all prepackaged food should bear labels which correctly list out the ingredients
of the food.
(b) There are different ordinances regulating advertisements in different areas.
The Trade Descriptions Ordinance (Cap 362) prohibits the making of false trade
descriptions in respect of the method of manufacture, composition, testing
results and fitness for purpose in an advertisement. The "Generic Code of
Practice on Television Advertising Standards" and the "Radio Code of Practice on
Advertising Standards" issued pursuant to the Broadcasting Ordinance (Cap 562)
and the Broadcasting Authority Ordinance (Cap 391) stipulate that an
advertisement of any product or service must not contain any descriptions,
claims or illustrations that depart from truth.
Besides, the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance makes it an offence
for any person to use or to display a food label which falsely describes the
food or is calculated to mislead as to its nature, substance or quality. The
Ordinance also makes it an offence for any person to publish, or to be a party
to the publication of, an advertisement which falsely describes any food. If any
advertisements of food products (including "health food" products) are suspected
to have violated the relevant requirements, the Food and Environmental Hygiene
Department will make follow-up investigations. Prosecution will be considered
for substantiated cases. Non-compliance with the above two provisions is subject
to a maximum fine of $ 50,000 and six-month imprisonment.
In addition, the Food and Drugs (Composition and Labelling) (Amendment:
Requirements for Nutrition Labelling and Nutrition Claim) Regulation 2008 made
under the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance regulates the nutrition
labelling and claims of general food products, including requiring the nutrient
function claims on the labels and advertisements of prepackaged food to comply
with the statutory requirements. The Amendment Regulation will come into effect
on July 1, 2010. The new provisions will enable consumers to make healthy food
choices; encourage food manufacturers to provide food products that are
conducive to public health and meet sound nutrition principles; and regulate
misleading or deceptive nutrition information labels and claims.
(c) As mentioned in the reply to part (a), the so-called "health food" products
are regulated under different ordinances depending on their ingredients. The
current regulatory framework of medicines and pCms requires the trade to clearly
state their side effects and display warning notices under specified
circumstances.
For medicines, the DH has issued the Guidelines on the Labelling of
Pharmaceutical Products (the Guidelines) to explain the statutory requirements
on the labelling of registered pharmaceutical products. These requirements
include the display of points to note and warning notices (e.g. "it is dangerous
to exceed the stated dose") on certain pharmaceutical products, as specified in
the Guidelines. Any person who intends to apply for registration of a medicine
under the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance must submit samples of labels and
packages in compliance with the Guidelines upon application.
In addition, any person who intends to apply for pCm registration under the
Chinese Medicine Ordinance must submit the labels, package inserts and sales
packs which have complied with the Chinese Medicines Regulation at the time of
application. The package inserts should specify information such as the
indications, contra-indications, side-effects and toxic effects of the pCm and
the precautions to be taken regarding its use. The application requirements and
necessary information to be submitted are detailed in the Application Handbook
for Registration of Proprietary Chinese Medicines for reference of the trade.
(d) Leading a healthy lifestyle is the key to having good health. Medical
research indicates that maintenance of good health requires a balanced diet,
moderate amount of exercise, and avoidance of smoking and alcohol. The public
need not rely on a particular type of "health food" product to stay healthy.
The DH has been providing tips of healthy living and health maintenance to the
public through various publicity channels, including announcements of public
interest on television, pamphlets, different kinds of health education materials
and websites, so as to promote health, prevent diseases and protect public
health. Relevant information has been uploaded to the website of the Central
Health Education Unit of the DH at
http://www.cheu.gov.hk/ and is also available to the public through the
24-hour Health Education Hotline.
Ends/Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Issued at HKT 15:20
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