Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ4: Food safety
Following is a question by the Hon Starry Lee and a reply by the
Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, in the Legislative
Council today (November 20):
Question:
It has been reported that a university professor claimed earlier that he
had conducted tests on the turtle jelly products of a certain brand and
found no constituents of turtle plastrons, and the commercial
establishment concerned claimed that there had been a significant drop
in business and its goodwill had been undermined as a result. The
Customs and Excise Department subsequently test-purchased and collected
samples of turtle jelly products of different brands in various
districts of the territory for testing by the Government Laboratory,
with the findings that all samples contained turtle constituents. In
this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) how the authorities generally handle reports of alleged
discrepancies between the composition of food products and product
descriptions; whether the Government has prescribed composition
standards for turtle jelly products; how the authorities at present
conduct laboratory tests on the composition of food products, as well as
the organisations that conduct such tests and the criteria adopted for
selecting the testing method;
(b) when the laboratory test results of private testing organisations
show that a food product does not meet the safety standards or that the
descriptions of that food product may have violated the Trade
Descriptions Ordinance, how the relevant government departments will
follow up such cases; whether there were occasions in the past five
years on which tests on the same food product conducted separately by
the Government Laboratory, the testing organisations commissioned by the
Government and private testing organisations generated remarkably
different results; if there were, of the reasons and the number of
relevant cases; and
(c) where the Government's laboratory test results confirm that the
composition of food products conforms with the relevant descriptions or
safety standards, whether the authorities will assist the commercial
establishments affected by false laboratory test results in making
claims or request the private testing organisations which have conducted
the relevant tests to make clarifications?
Reply:
President,
My reply to the various parts of the Hon Starry Lee's question is as
follows:
(a) Under the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (Cap. 362) (TDO), any person
who supplies any goods with a false trade description in the course of
any trade or business, or has in his possession for sale any goods with
a false trade description, commits a criminal offence. The maximum
penalty on conviction is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for five
years.
Upon receiving a report of alleged discrepancies between food
composition and product description, or a report or any information on
the possible contravention of the TDO relating to the description of a
food product, the Customs and Excise Department (C&ED), as the
enforcement agency of the TDO, will normally first examine the report in
detail and, where necessary, purchase the food product concerned on the
market for testing of composition by the Government Laboratory (GL).
Based on the test results, the C&ED will examine whether or not the food
composition is inconsistent with the product description to the extent
of constituting an offence of false trade description under the TDO,
with a view to deciding on the necessary enforcement actions. If food
safety is involved, the C&ED will liaise with the Centre for Food Safety
(CFS) under the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department for
coordinated follow-up actions.
The CFS is responsible for ensuring that food for sale in Hong Kong is
fit for human consumption, in the interest of safeguarding public
health. It carries out regulatory and enforcement work in accordance
with the provisions on food safety, food standards and labelling
requirements under the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance
(Cap. 132) (PHMSO) and its subsidiary legislation. The Food and Drugs
(Composition and Labelling) Regulations (Cap. 132W) (the Regulations)
under the PHMSO stipulate that the label of prepackaged foods shall
specify information such as the name or designation of food and list of
ingredients. The Regulations also regulate misleading or deceptive
nutrition labels and nutrition claims of prepackaged foods. Any person
who does not comply with the above-mentioned provisions renders himself
liable to a maximum fine of $50,000 and imprisonment for six months.
Upon receiving a complaint or report relating to the provisions on food
safety, food standards and labelling requirements under Cap. 132 and its
subsidiary legislation, the CFS will follow up the case in accordance
with such provisions, including taking samples of food that is the
subject of complaint or collecting samples of relevant food products
from the market for testing and analysis by the GL.
Besides, the CFS monitors food incidents in Hong Kong, the Mainland and
overseas on a daily basis. If any laboratory test report of private
testing organisations shows that a product may have food safety
problems, the CFS will study the relevant report and assess the
potential health risks to the public so as to formulate the most
appropriate risk management measures and risk communication messages.
The CFS will collect product samples whenever necessary for testing by
the GL for hazardous substances, before determining whether any further
actions are required.
If in the course of its work (such as when engaged in food surveillance
or handling complaints and food incidents etc.), the CFS comes across
cases involving false trade descriptions, it will refer them to the C&ED
for follow-up actions.
At present, there are no international or recognised product standards
for the ingredients of turtle jelly products. Nor are there any specific
composition standards for turtle jelly products in our legislation.
The GL, which provides laboratory testing services to the C&ED and the
CFS, is an internationally recognised laboratory providing world-class
scientific services. Food products and their composition are tested by
using the most comprehensive and appropriate methodologies. The GL will
primarily adopt the composition standards and testing methods
promulgated by international authorities, such as the International
Organization for Standardization and Codex Alimentarius Commission. If
necessary, the GL will make reference to the relevant national standards
and scientific literature for various objective and scientific testing
of the samples received.
(b) Part (a) of my reply gives an account of the follow-up action that
would be taken by the relevant Government departments when the
laboratory test results of private testing organisations show that the
descriptions of a food product may have violated the TDO, or that a food
product does not meet food safety standards.
It is not always the case that we can make direct comparison between the
test results arrived at by different testing organisations for a product
of the same brand. Apart from the possible difference in the purposes
that the tests are intended to serve, whether or not the samples are
collected at the same time and place, and whether or not they are from
the same manufacturing plant, produced on the same day or come from the
same batch of products may also contribute to the difference in the
testing results. With respect to the turtle jelly products in question,
the C&ED and the private testing organisation concerned did not collect
their samples on the same day and at the same place.
In the past five years, we did not come across any case handled by C&ED
where seemingly different results were observed for the tests performed
on the same product sample by the GL and private testing organisations.
The CFS did not keep records of any such cases over the past five years.
As the regulatory agency responsible for food safety in Hong Kong, the
CFS relies solely on the official test results for taking enforcement
actions.
(c) As mentioned above, the C&ED is the enforcement agency of the TDO,
while CFS works to ensure food safety, thereby safeguarding public
health. Under the two departments, there is no mechanism for assisting
commercial establishments affected by inaccurate laboratory test results
in laying statutory claims. Nor do the two departments have the
authority to seek clarifications from the private testing organisations
responsible for the relevant tests for the purpose of assisting such
establishments. If necessary, the commercial establishments concerned
may follow up the case by seeking legal advice from their solicitors. If
requested by the court, the relevant government departments will provide
inputs in the light of the circumstances of individual cases.
Separately, the Hong Kong Accreditation Service (HKAS) under the
Innovation and Technology Commission provides accreditation service for
laboratories in Hong Kong through the Hong Kong Laboratory Accreditation
Scheme (HOKLAS). HOKLAS aims to upgrade the standard of testing and
management of Hong Kong laboratories, officially recognise their
competence in performing specific tests, and promote the acceptance of
endorsed test reports issued by accredited laboratories, both locally
and internationally. HOKLAS is open to voluntary participation. If there
is any report or complaint against an accredited laboratory or its
accredited services, HKAS will approach the accredited laboratory.
Should serious non-conformity with accreditation regulations or
technical criteria be identified, HKAS may suspend or terminate the
relevant accreditation of the laboratory. Where any illicit practice
comes to light, HKAS will inform the relevant law enforcement agencies
for follow-up actions.
Ends/Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Issued at HKT 17:12
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