The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
(HKSAR) was drafting a comprehensive food safety law, said a
spokesman for the Health, Welfare and Food Bureau of the HKSAR
government on Thursday.
The law is aimed to gradually regulate food items which have a
higher food safety risk or of wide public concern with priority
given to farmed aquatic produce, vegetables and fruits, he
said.
The remarks were made in response to demands of local green
groups, vegetable traders and legislators for enhancing the safety
of vegetables and fruits supplied to Hong Kong for consumption.
The spokesman pointed out that in view of the wide varieties of
food imports to Hong Kong, the Center for Food Safety (CFS) would
formulate regulatory measures on food according to their safety
risks.
In the case of vegetables, the whole process from production,
transportation to distribution is closely monitored by the
concerned authorities from the mainland and Hong Kong to ensure
safety.
According to the agreement between the mainland and Hong Kong,
all vegetables supplied by the mainland must come from some 190
registered farms and purchasing stations located at different
provinces.
Consignments of vegetables can only be exported to Hong Kong
after examination by the relevant mainland entry-exit inspection
and quarantine bureaux. Vehicles transporting the vegetables, which
should be accompanied by monitoring card and pesticide declaration
certificate issued by the mainland authorities, are required to
enter Hong Kong through Man Kam To checkpoint. The CFS would also
take samples for testing at the import, wholesale and retail
levels.
The CFS has been working closely with other law enforcement
agencies. Among the 28,000 vegetable transportation vehicles being
inspected at Man Kam To checkpoint in 2006, 17 of them were
detained. A total of 23 tons of problematic vegetables were
destroyed.
The spokesman stressed that the food safety bill now being
drafted would help strengthen the management of every part in the
whole food supply chain through a new regulatory approach,
including imposing a registration scheme on food importers and
distributors.
He said the Health, Welfare and Food Bureau had indicated to the
Legislative Council's Panel on Food Safety and Environmental
Hygiene in February that new legislative proposals would be put
forward for public discussion in the next legislative session and
be submitted to the Council for scrutiny after consolidating the
views of various sectors.
(Xinhua News Agency April 13, 2007)