Centre for Food Safety Food and Environmental Hygiene Department Notes of the Seventy-second Meeting of the Trade Consultation Forum held on 29 November 2019 at 2:30 p.m. in Conference Room at Room 102, 1/F, New Wan Chai Market, 258 Queen's Road East, Wan Chai,

Present

Government Representatives

Dr. Samuel YEUNG Consultant (Community Medicine) (Chairman) (Risk Assessment & Communication) Dr. MANG Chun Yu, Jerry Senior Medical Officer (Risk Communication)) Mr. CHENG Chun Chief Health Inspector (Communication & Response) Ms. CHEN Yung Yung, Scientific Officer (Technical Melva Publication)2 Dr. LUM Hon Kei, John Scientific Officer (Toxicology) Miss LEUNG Mee Sze Senior Health Inspector (Import/Export) Compliance & Investigation 2 Mr. CHIANG Fat Kwai Superintendent (Risk Communication) (Secretary)

Trade Representatives Ms. YEUNG Yuk Yue A.S Watson Industries Ms. Wendy CHEUNG A-1 Barkery Co., (HK) Ltd Mr. HO Kin hei Amoy Food Limited Mr. Eric LEE Ausino Food Holdings Ltd Mr. Timmy LAU Australian Trade and Investment Commission Ms. Kathy HO Bayer HealthCare Limited Mr. LAM Pak Wah Best Harvest Food Comapany Limited Mr. Arthur YU British Consulate-General Hong Kong Ms. LI Suk Yee, Joanne Bureau Veritas Hong Kong Limited Mr. TSANG Wah Him Calbee Four Seas Co., Ltd Ms. Carrie LIANG China Dragon Inspection & Certification (H.K.) Ltd. Mr. Chi WONG China Inspection Co. Ltd. Ms. Maggie LEUNG China Resources Vanguard (HK) Co., Ltd. Ms. CHAN Sze wing Ciao International Limited Mr. Dennis CHAN City Super Limited Mr. LI Chun Kit CK One Limited Ms. SIN Ching Yan, Krystal Consulate General of India, Hong Kong Ms. WONG Yuen Zhan Consulate General of Malaysia - Trade section (matrade) Ms. Merve YILMAZCAN "Consulate General of the Republic of Turkey Office of the Commercial Attaché Mr. CHEUNG Wing Yiu Dah Chong Hong Ltd Mr. Philip KWAN Danone Nutricia Early Life Nutrition (Hong Kong) Limited Mr. Carlo Catingan Dole Hong Kong Ltd. Ms. Kacila LEUNG Enviro Labs Limited. Ms. Wing CHEUNG Eurofins Food Testing Hong Kong Limited Ms. Kathleeen CHAN F.S. I. (C.H.K.) Association Mr. WONG Tin Shun Fairwood Fast Food Holdiings Limited Ms. Rita CHAN Fairwood Fast Food Holdiings Limited Mr. Freddy FONG Foodscan Analytics Limited Ms. Noel HO Garden Heart Food Lltd Ms. Joe MAK General Mills HK Ltd Ms. Amanda WONG Glee Foods Industries Ltd Mr. Samuel LEUNG Gourmet House Ltd Ms. CHENG Hei Yin Ms. LAM Pui Yan Greenroll Limited Ms. CHEUNG Tin Yan HK Elements Ltd Professor Peter CHIU Hong Kong Food Science & Technology Association Ms. Corine LIU Hong Kong Yakult Co., Ltd. Ms. NG Sze Man Hong Kong Yakult Co., Ltd. Mr. LAM Choi Tat Hop Fat Company Mr. FUNG Chun Yin InterContinental Grand Stanford HK Ms. May KAN International Food Safety Association Ms. Sum AU Island Shangri-La Hotel Ms. WONG Tsz Yan, Fiona Itochu HK Ltd Mr. CHOW Tin Yam Japan External Trade Organization Mr. Maeda Hisanori Japan External Trade Organization Ms. Kylie SHUM Jardine Restaurant Group Mr. Martin LAW Jardine Restaurant Group Ms. Catalina CHIM Jardine Restaurant Group

- 2 - Ms. Abby WONG KSF Beverage Holding Co., Ltd Ms. Alice WONG Lee Kum Kee International Holdings Ltd. Ms. CHAN Lai Hang LHG Catering Limited Ms. Grace Mok MHK Restaurants Ltd Ms. Jenny YEUNG MHK Restaurants Ltd Mr. WONG Pui Sum Natural Alliance Co., Ltd. Mr. Joseph MA Nestle Hong Kong Ltd Mr. WONG Sze King, Nissin Foods (HK) Management Co., Ltd. Timothy Ms. Savannah WONG Ocean Empire Holding Ltd. Ms. German CHEUNG Pappagallo Pacific Limited Mr. TANG Hon Fai, Alex PizzaExpress (Hong Kong) Limited Mr. Kenneth LAM Prominent Int'l (Env.) Ltd. Ms. CHAN Yuk man, Regal F&B (RRH) Limited Bernice Mr. Tommy NG Regal Hotels International Ltd. Ms. Karen LO Sims Trading Company Limited Mr. CHEUNG Shing Kam The Chinese General Chamber of Commerce Mr. William LAM The Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong Mr. Andrew LUI The Dairy Farm Company Limited - Wellcome Ms. Fiona AU YEUNG The Garden Company Limited Ms. TSE Ching Po The Hong Kong Jockey Club Ms. HON Yin, Candy The Hong Kong Standards and Testing Centre Ltd Ms. Winnie KWOK Vitasoy International Holdings Ltd. Ms. Amy CHAN W Hong Kong Ms. KWOK Wing Yi Whole Sun Ltd Mr. Reagan NG Wilson International Frozen Foods (HK) Ltd. Mr. CHAN Wai Choi Wing Wah Food Manufactory Limited Ms. LIM Chi Yiu, Joy Wyeth (Hong Kong) Holding Company Limited Ms. Morna YUEN Yuen Loong & Co., Ltd

Opening Remarks

The Chairman welcomed all trade representatives to the 72nd meeting and introduced government representatives to the meeting.

- 3 - Confirmation of Notes of Last Meeting

The notes of the last meeting were confirmed without amendment.

Agenda Item 1

New Arrangement of Import of Brazilian Meat, Poultry and Eggs into Hong Kong

2. Mr. CHENG Chun briefed the meeting that in March 2017, there were media reports on suspected bribery of Brazilian government officials by meat producers in exchange for permission to sell and export allegedly contaminated meat, of which some had been exported to Hong Kong. In September of the same year, the Brazilian authority confirmed that the health certificates for the meat were falsified. The investigation by the Centre for Food Safety

(CFS) revealed that the incident involved a total of 10 consignments of meat. All of them had been re-exported and none had entered the local market. The CFS had also notified the relevant importing countries of the incident.

3. Since then, the CFS had stepped up surveillance of meat imported from Brazil. Up to late

October 2019, over 1,050 samples had been collected for testing and all results were satisfactory. After the incident, whenever checking the original copies of the health certificates for meat imported from Brazil into Hong Kong, the CFS would also counter-check the information against those shown in the online system of the Brazilian authority. Thereafter, no falsified health certificates had been found.

4. In response to the above incident, the CFS formulated specific import requirements to ensure the safety of meat imported from Brazil, including: (i) clarifying the legal requirements of both jurisdictions; (ii) enhancing food traceability; (iii) specifying the

- 4 - requirement for maintaining compliance with the standards of the World Organisation for

Animal Health (OIE) and the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex); (iv) specifying the requirement for maintaining compliance with the principles of the Hazard Analysis and

Critical Control Point (HACCP) system and the Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP); and

(v) strengthening the risk-based veterinary audit and drug monitoring programmes.

5. Up till present, the Brazilian authority had provided the CFS with a list of 458 eligible

Brazilian establishments meeting the specific import requirements. According to the statistics of the CFS, the list covered all the Brazilian establishments that had exported products from

Brazil to Hong Kong in the past one year.

6. The new import arrangement would take effect on 18 May 2020. The Brazilian authority would only issue revised health certificates to eligible establishments with a view to enhancing food traceability, while the CFS would issue import licences correspondingly. The trade would have a grace period of six months to change their merchandising arrangements.

To safeguard the interests of the trade, the CFS advised traders to import meat, poultry and eggs from eligible establishments and to verify if the establishments were on the list of eligible establishments posted on the website of the Brazilian authority

(www.agricultura.gov.br/arquivos-eventos/establishmnt-hkg.pdf/ ). Details of the new import arrangement could be learned by visiting the CFS’ website

(https://www.cfs.gov.hk/english/committee/committee_tcf_2019.html ) or by calling

2867 5577.

7. A trade representative asked whether the new import arrangement for Brazilian meat would also apply to meat products imported from other countries. Miss LEUNG Mee Sze replied that in light of the above incident, the new arrangement would only apply to meat

- 5 - products imported from Brazil. The list of the 458 eligible establishments was provided by the

Brazilian authority.

Agenda Item 2

Guidelines for Food Businesses on Providing Consumer Advice on High-risk Foods on

Menus

8. Ms. Melva CHEN briefed the meeting that the guidelines, applicable to food premises and food retailers, aimed to facilitate food businesses in informing consumers of the risk of consuming raw or undercooked foods and ingredients in ready-to-eat foods served to them.

Raw or undercooked foods receiving no or inadequate heat treatment were more likely to carry microorganisms, including “superbugs”. Whether or not “superbugs” could cause illnesses, they might transfer their antibiotic resistance genes to other bacteria inside the human body, and this in turn might affect the effectiveness of future use of antibiotics when needed.

9. Ms. Melva CHEN further explained that “superbugs” were microorganisms (e.g. bacteria) which had developed antimicrobial resistance (AMR), an ability to stop a wide range of antimicrobial agents (e.g. antibiotics) from working against them. Foods could be contaminated by “superbugs” at any stage from farm to table. Food businesses should combat

AMR by observing the “Five Keys to Food Safety” (mainly formulated by the World Health

Organization) which were: (1) choose wisely; (2) keep clean; (3) separate raw and cooked food; (4) cook thoroughly; and (5) keep food at safe temperature. These keys were based on scientific evidence and were effective in preventing foodborne illnesses.

10. Ms. Melva CHEN said that susceptible populations (including pregnant women, infants,

- 6 - young children, the elderly and people with weakened immunity) should avoid eating raw or undercooked foods. Food businesses could provide consumer advice or a reminder on these foods on the menu. Apart from menus, the advice could also appear on menu boards, brochures, signage, food labels and/or placards if suitable. Some overseas countries, such as the United States and the United Kingdom, gave advice regarding high-risk foods on the menu. In September 2019, the CFS’ Consumer Liaison Group held a focus group meeting during which the consumers opined that the text and images of the menu label should be clear and simple to help the public make appropriate choices.

11. Ms. Melva CHEN said that high-risk foods included: (1) fish served raw or undercooked; (2) all other raw or undercooked seafood; (3) eggs served raw or undercooked;

(4) salad dressings and mayonnaise made with raw eggs; (5) desserts made with raw eggs; (6) soft cheeses made from raw milk; (7) ready-to-eat raw vegetables; and (8) raw or undercooked meat. Ms. Melva CHEN added that for foods prepared by special methods for safe consumption (e.g. egg products made with pasteurised eggs, soft cheeses made with pasteurised milk and hot-smoked salmon), consumer advice might not be required. In such cases, food businesses should assure food safety by obtaining documentary proofs.

12. The Chairman added that the Food and Drug Administration of the USA mandatorily required food businesses to provide consumer advice on high-risk foods on menus as a measure to prevent food poisoning and diseases caused by pathogens and to exclude the possibility of antibiotic resistance genes being transferred from AMR bacteria to other bacteria inside the human body.

13. A trade representative enquired whether guidelines on AMR bacteria would be issued.

The Chairman replied that to prevent the spread of AMR bacteria, efforts should be focused on controlling food sources. As such, separate guidelines would not be issued.

- 7 -

14. A trade representative enquired whether consumer advice on high-risk foods on menus would be applicable to prepackaged foods in the future. Ms. Melva CHEN replied that since the advice was to be provided on a voluntary basis, it would be applicable to the food labels on prepackaged foods as well.

Agenda Item 3

Recent Societal Events and Food Safety

15. Mr. CHENG Chun briefed the meeting that in view of the recent societal events, there were concerns from some restaurants and food retail shops that food they were selling or food ingredients they were using might be contaminated by tear gas or other substances. In fact, food contaminants came from many different sources. Whether tear gas or other contaminants would affect food safety depended on a number of factors, such as the storage conditions of food, the duration of exposure and the concentration of contaminants, etc. Therefore, food should be properly stored in a suitable place such as a clean and covered food-grade container to reduce the risk of food contamination. When tear gas was being released nearby, restaurants or food retail shops should close all doors and windows, turn off the air conditioner and seal the gaps over the doors and windows with wet towels to reduce the chance of contamination indoors. After any such incident, they should check whether the packaging of food was intact and whether any food was damaged or contaminated. For the sake of prudence, food suspected to be contaminated or showing abnormality should not be consumed. In general, contaminants on the surface of some kinds of food, such as fruits or vegetables, could be reduced by washing with running water. However, food suspected to be contaminated or showing abnormality should not be consumed. In addition, the trade should always observe the “Five Keys to Food Safety”. Finally, Mr. CHENG Chun advised the trade

- 8 - to visit the CFS’ website (https://www.cfs.gov.hk/english/index.html ), if necessary, for relevant information.

Agenda Item 4

Food Trader Portal

16. Mr. CHENG Chun briefed the meeting that the Food Trader Portal (FTP) would provide the trade with a number of online services, including: (i) trader registration as a food importer/distributor and renewal; (ii) application for an import licence/import permission; (iii) recording food arrival information; and (iv) providing food safety and import control information. Over the past year, the CFS had been collecting views from the trade at advisory group meetings and the Trade Consultation Forum. Hands-on training sessions had also been held for the trade from May 2019 onwards.

17. Mr. CHENG Chun further explained that services available on the FTP would be rolled out in phases: starting from 23 December 2019, traders would be able to open FTP user accounts, apply for new registration as food importers/distributors, renew registration and update their information; tentatively from the first quarter of 2020, traders could: (i) apply for import licences for meat and poultry; (ii) apply for import permission for meat, poultry and game; (iii) record food arrival information; (iv) enquire about the lists of eligible slaughtering plants and processing plants; and (v) enquire about the list of food suspended from import; tentatively from the third quarter of 2020, traders could apply for import permission for milk and frozen confections; and tentatively from the second quarter of 2021, traders could apply for import permission for eggs.

18. Since November 2019, the CFS had started issuing letters/email to invite

- 9 - registered/exempted meat, poultry and game importers to open FTP user accounts. Other food importers would be invited in phases according to the expiry dates of their trader registration, while other exempted food traders would be invited to open user accounts in due course.

19. Mr. CHENG Chun asked the meeting to note that: (i) the use of the electronic services of the FTP was voluntary; (ii) when the online application services for import licence and import permission were implemented, new application forms and formats for import licence/import permission would be introduced; (iii) in the meantime, the existing paper mode application would be maintained, but the new application form should be used; and (iv) food traders were encouraged to open FTP user accounts early to enjoy the convenient, fast and environmentally friendly online services offered by the FTP.

20. A trade representative asked whether the web-based platform for Small Volume

Exemption from Nutrition Labelling would be incorporated into the FTP. Another trade representative enquired whether traders could submit scanned documents when making food import applications via the FTP as presently they were required to submit the original documents to the CFS. Mr. CHENG Chun said that the above two questions would be answered in the post-meeting note.

21. Post-meeting note: The CFS had no plans to incorporate the web-based platform for

Small Volume Exemption from Nutrition Labelling into the FTP in the short term, but would consider the suggestion. When making applications via the FTP, traders could upload image files of the supporting documents, if required, to the FTP. The CFS would, as appropriate, request the applicant to submit the original documents for inspection.

Agenda Item 5

- 10 - Food Traders’ Registration

22. Mr. CHENG Chun briefed the meeting that Sections 4 and 5 of the Food Safety

Ordinance (Cap. 612) required any person who carried on a food importation/distribution business to register with the Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene as a food importer/food distributor. A “food importer” meant a person who carried on a business that brought or caused to be brought into Hong Kong food by air, land or water. A “food distributor” meant a person who carried on a business the principal activity of which was the supply of food in Hong Kong by wholesale. Any person directly engaged in the transaction of importing/distributing food and had acquired the food (i.e. taking possession or control of the food, even though the food might not be under his custody), whether through electronic or other means, was regarded as a food importer/food distributor.

23. As a business facilitation measure, food importers/food distributors who had already registered or had obtained a licence under other Ordinances were exempted from complying with the registration requirement. They included the holder of a permission or the licensee of a licence under the Food Business Regulation (Cap. 132X), the Frozen Confections

Regulation (Cap. 132AC), the Hawker Regulation (Cap. 132AI), the Milk Regulation (Cap.

132AQ), the Offensive Trades Regulation (Cap. 132AX), the Slaughterhouses Regulation

(Cap. 132BU), the Reserved Commodities (Control of Imports, Exports and Reserve Stocks)

Regulations (Cap. 296A), the Marine Fish Culture Ordinance (Cap. 353) or the Merchant

Shipping (Local Vessels) (Certification and Licensing) Regulation (Cap. 548D). However, the exempted food importers/food distributors were still required to provide the Food and

Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) with supplementary information concerning the business of food importation/distribution.

- 11 - 24. Mr. CHENG Chun explained to the meeting that the registration scheme assisted in identifying and contacting a more defined group of food traders speedily in a food incident.

Any person who, without reasonable excuse, carried on a food importation/distribution business without being registered as a food importer/food distributor committed an offence and was liable to a maximum fine of $50,000 and imprisonment of 6 months. The registration of food importers and food distributors would be valid for a period of 3 years, subject to renewal. The first registration and renewal fees were $195 and $180 respectively. The “Guide to the Registration Scheme for Food Importers and Food Distributors” had been uploaded to the website for the Food Safety Ordinance (www.foodsafetyord.gov.hk ) for reference.

Enquiries could also be made by email ([email protected] ) or on the telephone

(2156 3017/2156 3034).

Any Other Business

Hairy Crabs Claimed to be Imported from Yangcheng Lake

25. Mr. CHENG Chun briefed the meeting that under the Food Business Regulation (Cap.

132X), selling of hairy crabs required a health certificate issued by the relevant authority of the exporting place and acceptable to the FEHD, together with a Shell Fish (Hairy Crab)

Permit granted by the FEHD. According to the CFS’ records, there were no hairy crabs imported from Yangcheng Lake into Hong Kong this year. If members of the public found on the market hairy crabs claimed to be imported from Yangcheng Lake, they might call the government hotline 1823 for investigation and follow up by relevant government departments.

26. A trade representative asked whether there was no application or no successful application for import of Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs this year. Miss LEUNG Mee Sze

- 12 - replied that the import of Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs did not require an application for permission in advance. When importing these crabs, only a health certificate issued by the relevant authority of the exporting place and acceptable to the FEHD was required for inspection by the FEHD staff at boundary control points.

Date of Next Meeting

27. The date of the next meeting would be decided later.

28. There being no other business, the meeting was adjourned at 4:35 p.m.

- 13 -