Replies to LegCo questions

LCQ3:Measures to ensure pork safety well in place

< Back

Following is a question by the Hon. Michael Mak Kwok-fung and a reply by the Secretary for the Environment and Food, Mrs Lily Yam, in the Legislative Council meeting today (June 5):

Question

It has been reported that, in the face of the fierce competition from supermarkets, some fresh provision shops in the markets in the New Territories are recently cutting the retail prices of pork and some prices are even below the wholesale prices of fresh pork, which casts doubt on the sources and quality of such pork. In this regard, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) whether it has stepped up the inspection of fresh provision shops over the past three months to check if chilled or smuggled pork is sold as fresh meat of pigs legally slaughtered in the territory;

(b) whether there is an upward trend in the number of cases in which shop owners were prosecuted for selling smuggled pork in the past five years, and provide the respective numbers of convictions and of fresh provision shop licences revoked in the same period; and

(c) of the measures in place to ensure that the pork on sale in fresh provision shops meets the hygiene standards, and whether it will consider increasing the penalties for offences in this regard?

Reply

(a) Since September 2000, the lease or licensing conditions of all meat retail outlets specify that all purchase invoices must be retained for at least 60 days. The invoices should indicate the purchase date, the goods description, the amount, and information on the supplier. When conducting inspections of fresh meat outlets, Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) officers examine whether the retail outlets have fresh meat purchasing invoices issued by the two licensed slaughtering houses, and whether they have other chilled meat purchasing invoices. The officers check if the quantity of goods listed in the invoices matches the physical inventory. To ensure that the checking is not complicated by the flow of goods, FEHD conducts these inspections in the morning at the beginning of the retail outlets' trading hours. If these shops have chilled meat purchasing invoices, FEHD officers will conduct inspections on the spot to see if the chilled meat is stored in appropriate temperatures in a refrigerator for sale in accordance with the provisions in the licensing conditions. In response to the sharp price cuts by some fresh meat retailers recently, FEHD has stepped up the inspection of shops selling fresh meat. It has also conducted surprise inspections early in the morning.

(b) At the retail level, there is a certain degree of difficulty in taking law enforcement actions against smuggling, as the source of the pork cannot be confirmed by visual inspection. As a result, no owners of wet market meat stalls or fresh provision shops have been prosecuted for selling smuggled pork since the establishment of FEHD.

The Government's strategy in combating meat smuggling is to intercept at the source. It is because the smuggled pork has not entered the market and it is easier for law enforcement officers to distinguish whether the pork is from a legal source. Moreover, the volume of pork intercepted is large and the people involved in these illegal activities will incur greater losses, resulting in an increased deterrent effect. In this regard, Customs and Excise Department (CED) and FEHD maintain close liaison with Mainland authorities for exchange of information. The two departments also launch joint operations and step up interception measures. In the past three years, CED and FEHD successfully seized about 758 tonnes of smuggled pork in total.

(c) The Government has several measures to ensure that the pork sold in wet market meat stalls and fresh provision shops meet hygiene standards.

First, FEHD and CED strongly combat smuggling. According to the Imported Game, Meat and Poultry Regulations enforced by FEHD, the maximum penalty upon conviction of an offence under the Regulations is a fine of $50,000 and six months' imprisonment. In the past three years, a total of 392 persons were convicted of offences under the above Regulations. Amongst them, 24 were given sentences of imprisonment ranging from seven days to four months. The remaining ones were fined.

The Import and Export Ordinance enforced by CED carries a maximum penalty of a fine of $2,000,000 and seven years' imprisonment upon conviction of an offence under the Ordinance. In the past three years, a total of 20 persons were convicted of offences under the Ordinance and given sentences of imprisonment ranging from 28 days to 14 months. Another nine persons paid fines or served community service sentences.

Although the current penalties already carry sufficient deterrent effects, we will review them from time to time. We will consider increasing the maximum penalty level for smuggling if it is necessary.

Secondly, FEHD takes pork samples at the retail level to ascertain if the samples contain beta-agonist, preservatives, colouring matters, antibiotics, hormone residue and other contaminants.

Currently, there are several pieces of legislation regulating the level of harmful substances or contaminants in food. The maximum penalty levels under these legislations is a fine of $50,000 and six months' imprisonment. In the past three years, FEHD had taken more than 3,800 samples, of which 57 failed to meet the required standards. The department prosecuted 37 persons involved in these cases, and issued 20 written warnings. The fine for the convicted persons ranged from $100 to 15,000. We consider that the penalty levels carry sufficient deterrent effect. Nevertheless, we will review the relevant legislation from time to time and consider increasing the penalty when necessary.

Thirdly, FEHD officers frequently inspect wet market meat stalls and fresh provision shops to check if the licensees comply with hygiene and food safety related provisions in the law, lease contracts or licenses. For instance, they will check if the store owners sell pork from illegally slaughtered pigs, and whether the meat handling practices are hygienic.

If a licensee contravenes these regulations, he will be subject to a maximum fine of $25,000, three months' imprisonment, and a daily fine of $300 for continuous contraventions. In addition to penalties imposed by the court, a convicted licensee will also be registered de-merit points by FEHD. If a specified number of de-merit points are registered in a specified time period, the licence will be suspended. A licence will be revoked in extreme cases. In the past three years, a total of 489 persons were charged for failure to comply with the relevant law. The maximum penalty imposed by the court was $30,000. The case involved sale of pork from illegally slaughtered pigs. FEHD also immediately cancelled the licence of the shop involved. Another similar case is being processed. In addition, FEHD had suspended 26 licences under the de-merit point system. We consider that these penalties carry sufficient deterrent effect, but we will review them from time to time.

FEHD will warn the licensees who contravene the lease or licensing conditions. A repeated offender's lease contract or licence will be revoked. However, if there are severe contraventions, FEHD will not rule out revoking the lease contract or licence immediately without giving warnings. To increase the deterrent effect, the department is seriously considering announcing the names of these stores.

Wednesday, June 5, 2002