Food safety: Who regulates it? - Medical People's Health Magazine

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Diet is the most basic condition for human survival. If the diet is unsafe, life and health are unsafe. But the public is passive, and we will not know whether the food we eat is truly safe. In the midst of food crises such as methamidophos, Sudanese red eggs, melamine milk, malachite green fish, asthmatic pigs, hormone-induced chickens, and sulfur dioxide-containing cows, Who is guarding the last door to our life and health? The World Health Organization defined food safety and food hygiene in 1984 as: “The necessary conditions and measures to ensure that food is safe, reliable, healthy, and suitable for human consumption during food production, processing, storage, distribution and manufacturing. " I believe it is impossible for all food in Hong Kong to meet the WHO's "wholesome" requirements, but can the most basic "safe and reliable" be achieved? Food is not regulated Hong Kong is a standard metropolis that does not engage in "farming". All food is imported from other places, and most of the agricultural and seafood products come from mainland China. At present, Hong Kong does not have food safety regulations, which is equivalent to no supervision on food imports. Generally, prepackaged foods, such as candies, biscuits, potato chips, or imported milk, alcoholic beverages, etc., do not need to go through any After testing, these foods can enter the Hong Kong sales market as long as the company imports them through agents. In terms of meat, Hong Kong’s current regulations on the import of live chickens are very strict, requiring multiple quarantines. In addition, markets are now cleared every day, so in theory, viruses are less likely to arise. As for imported frozen meat, the FEHD will usually detain all the food for inspection when it is imported for the first time. If there are no problems, it will also be detained and inspected when it is imported for the second time, but only random inspections will be conducted. After that, Only random inspections will be carried out. The government promised to legislate food safety in June 2010. This bill can be said to have finally erected a barrier to food imports. Under the framework of the Food Safety Ordinance, the regulatory standards for all food imported into Hong Kong will be unified, and control will be strengthened on certain items, such as the import of live chickens or meat, and the prevention and inspection work will be stricter. Chairman of the Legislative Council’s Food Safety and Environmental Hygiene Committee, Li Huaming, pointed out that Hong Kong’s current food control standards are not consistent and vary according to different foods. "At present, the FEHD does not have the legal authority to supervise imported food that specifically requires compliance with food safety standards. When the food safety regulations are implemented, it will be fully mandatory for all food importers and distributors to register with the food safety authority. Only those who have Only registered food importers can import food into Hong Kong. If a food safety incident occurs, the source of the food can be traced based on the information of the food importer and distributor and held responsible. In addition, if a certain food is suspected to affect public health, food safety issues must be investigated. The supervisor may also issue orders prohibiting the import or sale of problematic food and issue food recall orders.” This situation also provides protection to traders. If the traders are unknowing, they can avoid prosecution for selling counterfeit goods. "Like Sudanese red eggs, the counterfeit eggs are provided by the mainland, and the Hong Kong vendors do not know about it. Even if they are prosecuted for selling counterfeit eggs, they will not be held criminally responsible if the supplier's information and documents can be provided to prove that the vendors did not intentionally break the law. " Lax law enforcement leads to coloring and cover-up The legislation of food safety regulations is expected to block unsafe imported foods, but it is still difficult to eliminate processed foods with artificial additives. Recent cases include beef stall owners thawing frozen beef, adding sulfur dioxide to make the beef bright red, and then selling it at the price of fresh beef to make huge profits. "Some vendors sell chilled chicken as fresh chicken and chilled pig as fresh pork. Of course, the most egregious thing is to add sulfur dioxide to beef and sell frozen beef as fresh beef. These are the problems of Hong Kong vendors and should be Crack down hard, especially those who break the law repeatedly, and it is best to suspend trading to increase the deterrent effect.” Li Huaming believes that the reason why Hong Kong traders repeatedly break the law is that law enforcement is lax. "Actually, there are quite a few health inspectors, and they have recently added more manpower. It can only be said that the scope of the FEHD's jurisdiction is too broad, or the inspectors have developed a relationship with the stalls, which prevents smooth enforcement of the law." In fact, lax law enforcement is a common problem, not just in Hong Kong. Nutrition labeling laws put an end to confusion The 1+7 nutrition labeling law will be enforced in July 2010 and can indeed clarify gray areas for food information. However, genetically modified labeling is voluntary and has been rated as a complete failure by groups concerned about food safety. "The 1+7 nutrition labeling law has been brewing for a long time, and the Nutrition Society and doctors are very supportive. Nowadays, many prepackaged foods have begun to use 1+7 nutrition labels, eliminating some vague promotional words, such as less sweet──Law There is no such thing as low-sugar, low-fat, low-salt, etc. There are international standards. If you claim to be low-sugar, low-fat or low-salt, you must comply with international standards. If you do not comply with the standards, you can be prosecuted and there are laws to follow. , making false claims invisible.” Legislate first, then enforce the law. If there is legislation to support it, suppliers can reduce fraud. "Hong Kong people are already too fat, almost surpassing those in European and American countries, and there are many patients with chronic diseases and diabetes. These patients are very strict about food choices. Less sweetness can easily mislead patients and affect their health." Li Huaming believes that it is a pity that gene labeling is voluntary. Without coercion, no manufacturer will voluntarily label. Center for Food Safety specifications too low Food accidents have occurred frequently in recent years. In order to ensure that citizens can eat with peace of mind, the Government established the Center for Food Safety in 2006, which is affiliated with the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department. "Five or six years ago, the Hong Kong SAR government did not pay attention to food safety at all. When food safety problems occurred again and again, the government was at a loss and took action at every turn. Like malachite green, it turns out that there is no ban on the use of malachite green in Hong Kong However, malachite green, which has been banned in the mainland, appears in food imported from the mainland to Hong Kong. This shows that Hong Kong has been very slow to respond to internationally banned substances. " "The Director of the Center for Food Safety is at level D4 in the government structure, while the Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene is at level D6. Simply put, the standards of the Center for Food Safety are too low, and it is tied up when doing things. The ideal is food safety The center can be independent. The director is at the D6 level and has greater power. There are more D4 level officials working under him. However, the current food safety center sounds big and grand, but in fact it only plays a supporting role." Li Huaming believes that Chinese people have low awareness of food safety. Fake eggs, fake soy sauce, and fake vegetables will only happen in China and are very rare in other countries. The Hong Kong government is very passive. Usually, Hong Kong only follows up when food exported from mainland China has problems in foreign countries. When problems are discovered, many of them have already flowed into the market. "The mainland is Hong Kong's largest food supplier. If the mainland can truly cooperate closely with the Hong Kong government, properly monitor the exported food, and have a qualified certificate of origin, Hong Kong's food can theoretically reach a safer level. However, recently, genuine labels have appeared The fake origin shows that mainland suppliers are violating the law, and Hong Kong is completely helpless. The number of samples collected in Man Kam To in Hong Kong is already quite high internationally, but the counterpart unit is mainland China, and mainland China has a lot of food safety violations, so it is inevitable. There are fish that have slipped through the net.” Li Huaming likened the current inspection situation at Man Kam Ferry in Hong Kong to a football team relying purely on a good gantry. In this case, there will of course be leaks. He hopes that the mainland can seriously handle food security inspections and reduce corruption. Citizens have no choice Ninety percent of the main food for Hong Kong people is imported from mainland China via the Man Kam Ferry. It can also be said that this short Man Kam Ferry is the umbilical cord that supplies the lifeblood of Hong Kong people. If the food transported to Hong Kong people through the umbilical cord contains toxins, As the recipients of the supply, what options do Hong Kong people have? Those who have money may choose more confident food-producing countries; those who have no money can only wash the food they buy as cleanly as possible. This is the official online instruction of the Center for Food Safety.

【Food Safety】Legal protection ensures you can eat with peace of mind

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A suspected outbreak of mass food poisoning occurred at the Penny's Bay Quarantine Center last month. The catering supplier involved was later found to have improperly handled ingredients, and food samples were even found to be contaminated with bacteria. The incident once again drew the attention of Hong Kong citizens to food safety issues. According to the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Chapter 132), it is an offense for any person to sell any food intended for human consumption but unfit for human consumption. At the same time, Regulation 10 of the Food Business Regulations attached to the Ordinance also clearly stipulates: Any person operating a food business to carry out or assist in the procedures or work of selling food must take all reasonably necessary measures to protect food safety to avoid Risk of food becoming contaminated or spoiled. Therefore, if a diner develops symptoms of suspected food poisoning after eating the food, the manufacturer or retailer will be held legally responsible. Manufacturers generally have a duty of care to food users to ensure that the food they produce is safe and suitable for human consumption in accordance with relevant legislation. If diners suspect that a food manufacturer's handling of food is unhygienic, resulting in food contamination, they may consider suing the manufacturer for negligence. After proving that the victim's discomfort was caused by the food manufacturer's negligent breach of duty, they can claim compensation from the manufacturer. Common compensation items include the price of the food, medical expenses, loss of income, pain and loss of life caused Fun compensation. As for, if the food manufacturer is located outside Hong Kong, the victim may consider making a contractual claim against the food retailer. According to Section 16 of the Sale of Goods Ordinance, the contract contains an implied condition that the food sold must be of merchantable quality and reasonably fit for consumption. If the food is contaminated due to improper handling of food by the retailer, the above implied conditions may be breached and the consumer must be compensated for the loss. In general cases of mass food poisoning, victims will usually seek help from the Consumer Council to resolve the dispute in a cost-effective manner. However, if there is still no constructive progress with the assistance of the Consumer Council, the victim may initiate legal proceedings against the person concerned.

Assuring Hong Kong of clean and safe food

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Feature:

Assuring Hong Kong of clean and safe food

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