Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ4: Storage and distribution of chilled poultry/meat
Following is a question by the Hon Michael Tien and a reply by the
Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, in the Legislative
Council today (May 29):
Question:
The chilled meat and poultry trade has been operating in Hong Kong for
over a decade, and the demand for chilled meat and poultry has been
rising continuously in recent years. For example, the daily quantity of
imported chilled chicken increased from 80 tonnes in 2008 to 104 tonnes
in 2012. Last year, the quantity of imported chilled chicken accounted
for 40% of the total quantity of imported chicken, and those of chilled
ducks and geese accounted for 90% and 99% respectively of the total
quantities of imports of their kinds. On the other hand, chilled food
products must be kept under refrigeration at a temperature of 4℃ or
below under the Food Hygiene Code, and a licence is required under the
law for operating a food refrigeration business. As ancillary facilities
for the wholesaling of chilled meat and poultry are currently
unavailable in Hong Kong, wholesalers can only put chilled meat and
poultry into temporary storage in lorries equipped with refrigeration
facilities and in freezers in order to carry out the process of dividing
and distributing chilled meat and poultry. It has been reported that
targeting at such operation mode of "storage prior to distribution", the
Food and Environmental Hygiene Department prosecutes wholesalers for
committing the offence of running cold stores without licences. Members
of the chilled meat and poultry trade have repeatedly written to the
Food and Health Bureau, requesting the Government to set up an approved
distribution and storage centre for chilled meat and poultry to
centralise the management of the business concerned, with a view to
reducing food risks. However, no reply has been received from the
Government. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether the authorities will consider drawing up and updating
relevant legislation and rules to ensure that the whole process of
importing and wholesaling chilled meat and poultry conforms to hygiene
standards, in order to enhance food safety and provide legislation and
rules for the trade to follow so as to avoid their being prosecuted; and
(b) whether the authorities will consider the request of the trade for
setting up an approved distribution and storage centre and initiate a
site selection study ?
Reply:
President,
Ensuring that the food sold in Hong Kong is safe and fit for human
consumption is one of the work priorities of the Food and Health Bureau.
We are committed to enhancing food safety through a multi-pronged
approach. We adopt the "from farm to table" strategy promulgated by the
World Health Organization under which surveillance is carried out at
source as well as the import, wholesale and retail levels to safeguard
public health. To ensure that the chilled poultry sold in Hong Kong is
fit for consumption, we consider it essential to properly monitor the
handling process that the chilled poultry goes through.
My reply to the various parts of the question is as follows:
(a) Under the agreement reached between Hong Kong and the Mainland, all
live and fresh food (including chilled poultry) supplied to Hong Kong by
the Mainland must be imported through Man Kam To. The chilled poultry
and meat has to come from farms and poultry/meat processing plants
registered with the relevant Mainland inspection and quarantine
authority. Upon arrival at the boundary checkpoint, the chilled poultry
and meat must bear animal health certificates issued by the relevant
authorities.
All consignments of chilled poultry/meat that may be imported will be
inspected at Man Kam To and then directly transported, in their original
packaging, to food factories for processing (including cutting into
parts or re-packaging), or to restaurants, markets and fresh provision
shops for sale. Traders may, depending on their operational needs,
temporarily keep the imported chilled poultry/meat, in their original
packaging, at a licensed cold store before redistributing them to food
factories, restaurants or retail outlets. In granting approval for
traders to import chilled poultry/meat from the Mainland into Hong Kong,
the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) under the Food and Environmental
Hygiene Department (FEHD) imposes conditions on how the goods vehicles
used for transportation should be equipped, requiring that any such
vehicle should have an enclosed conveying compartment with refrigerating
devices, temperature measuring devices, as well as a temperature gauge
affixed outside the vehicle for verification purpose. Besides, the CFS
requires that the chilled poultry/meat should be stored at a temperature
between 0℃ and 4℃ throughout the process of transporting the chilled
poultry/meat from registered processing establishments in the Mainland
to food factories, restaurants and retail outlets in Hong Kong. The
temperature should in no circumstances exceed 8℃.
If the business operation of chilled poultry/meat importers involves the
use of food premises as defined under the Food Business Regulation, the
importers are required to apply to the FEHD for an appropriate food
premises licence, such as a cold store licence, a food factory licence
or a fresh provision shop licence, for lawful handling of imported
chilled poultry/meat. When considering licence applications, the FEHD
will seek advice from the government departments concerned to ensure
that the applications are in compliance with various requirements
including those relating to land use, building safety, planning, fire
safety and hygiene.
The lack of assurance about the state of the hygiene conditions and
facilities in premises without a food business licence is such that
storing and processing chilled poultry/meat in these premises presents
substantive food safety risk. With a view to safeguarding public health,
FEHD staff, acting in accordance with the Public Health and Municipal
Services Ordinance or the Food Business Regulation, will take
enforcement actions against any person who operates an unlicensed food
business (including cold store business) including confiscating the
items concerned.
The existing legislation and control mechanism for regulating chilled
poultry/meat processing are well-established and generally effective.
The FEHD has also formulated clear guidelines for reference by the
industry. As such, the Government does not consider it necessary to
amend the relevant legislation and control mechanism at present.
(b) Relative to the chilled meat importation business, the live and
fresh food industry is different in terms of development history and
business nature. The Administration has set up public wholesale markets
for live and fresh food with a view to providing a platform for
on-the-spot price negotiation and transaction. As for imports of chilled
meat, the transaction details (including volume and price) have already
been agreed upon in advance among the parties concerned before the
consignment arrives in Hong Kong. Besides, traders may rent a cold store
or apply for an appropriate licence for handling the distribution and
storage of chilled meat. Under such circumstances, the Government does
not have any plan to set up a distribution and storage centre for
chilled poultry/meat.
As regards arrangements pertaining to the storage and distribution of
chilled poultry/meat after importation, importers may, as I mentioned
above, apply to the FEHD for a relevant food business licence according
to their operational needs, or rent a cold store in the market place for
proper processing of chilled poultry/meat. At present, there are
altogether 37 licensed cold stores in the territory. According to
information gathered by the FEHD from individual licensed cold store
operators, there are large-scale cold stores in the market place which
could provide space for traders to store their chilled poultry/meat. Not
only do some of these stores operate round the clock, they could well
provide sufficient parking spaces. The relevant trade association or
individual traders may wish to consider exploring with the cold store
operators opportunities for entering into commercial arrangements that
meet their long-term needs in terms of storage accommodation.
Enquiries and applications may also be made to the relevant Government
departments should the trade wish to rent government land for setting up
a distribution and storage centre for chilled meat and poultry.
Ends/Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Issued at HKT 15:32
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