Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ20: Nutrition labelling
Following is a question by the Hon Frederick Fung and a written reply by the
Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today
(January 19):
Question:
The legislation on nutrition labelling has come into force since July 2010.
Regarding the implementation of the legislation, will the Government inform this
Council:
(a) whether the authorities have conducted surveys to ascertain the public's
level of awareness of nutrition labelling and change in attitude to the choice
of food products since the implementation of the aforesaid legislation, so as to
find out if the public know how to choose food products and develop healthy
diets; and whether the authorities have reviewed the effectiveness of the
publicity and education work on nutrition labelling conducted in the past; if
so, of the outcome; if not, the reasons for that;
(b) given that it was reported that the Centre for Food Safety had uncovered
that, among some 240 food samples it tested earlier to verify nutrition
information, one out of every eight pre-packaged food products had inaccurate
information, of the details of the inaccuracies and breaches uncovered, together
with a list of non-compliant food products, items on their labels with
inaccurate information, the number of prosecutions instituted, and the
rectifications made; and
(c) whether the authorities will increase the number of food samples to be
inspected to verify nutrition information and step up efforts on enforcement and
prosecution, so as to ensure that the public can choose food products according
to accurate nutrition labels, thereby developing healthy eating habits?
Reply:
President,
(a) Since the passage of the Food and Drugs (Composition and Labelling)
(Amendment: Requirements for Nutrition Labelling and Nutrition Claim) Regulation
2008 by the Legislative Council in mid-2008, the Government has employed various
publicity and education means to enhance consumers' understanding of the
benefits brought about by the Nutrition Labelling Scheme (the Scheme), with a
view to building up a healthy diet.
The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) has launched a three-year Publicity and
Education Campaign (the Campaign) in this respect since June 2008, implemented
in three phases:
(1) to raise public awareness in Phase I (June 2008 �V July 2009);
(2) to enhance understanding of the Scheme in Phase II (August 2009 �V June
2010); and
(3) to motivate behavioural changes in Phase III (July 2010 �V June 2011).
The CFS evaluates the Campaign by means of two large-scale surveys. The first
one was conducted at an early stage of the Campaign in mid-2008, called the
"Survey on Public Knowledge, Attitude and Practice regarding Food Safety and
Nutrition Labelling". The findings revealed that:
(1) the majority of the public covered in the survey recognised the importance
and benefits of nutrition labels;
(2) while they had developed some basic understanding of nutrients and nutrition
labelling, there was still room for improvement; and
(3) more than half of them always read the nutrient label or usually read the
nutrition label when they bought a prepackaged food product for the first time.
Among all nutrients, "trans fats" and "saturated fat" received the least
attention.
The above findings were released through a press conference.
Since the legislation came into force on July 1, 2010, the Campaign has entered
Phase III, which encourages the public to make reference to the nutrition labels
when buying prepackaged food and make healthier food choices. The CFS plans to
conduct another survey in the second half of 2011 to evaluate the changes in
public knowledge, attitude and practice regarding nutrition labelling.
To sustain the efforts, the CFS plans to launch a two-year enhancement programme
on nutrition labelling after the completion of the above three-year Campaign,
focusing on motivating behavioural changes among the general public.
(b) Earlier on, the CFS tested 240 prepackaged food products to verify the
accuracy of their nutrition labels and nutrient claims. Test results revealed
discrepancies between the actual nutrient content and that stated on the
nutrition labels in 30 samples. The 30 samples involved different categories of
food, including beverages, snack, soya bean sauce, milk and dairy products, meat
products, cereal and grain products, etc. Among the samples in which
discrepancies were found, four were related to total fat, seven to saturated
fat, one to trans fat, four to sugars, one to protein, six to sodium, two to
calcium and five to multiple nutrients.
If the test result of a food sample shows discrepancy between the actual
nutrient content and that stated on the nutrition label, the CFS will issue a
letter to the retailer / manufacturer / importer concerned requiring an
explanation within 21 days. If the explanation is not accepted, a warning letter
will be issued requiring actions to comply with the relevant statutory
requirements within 60 days. For traders who fail to rectify the irregularities
within the 60 days, the CFS will initiate prosecution procedures against them.
Among the concerned food products of the 30 samples, the laboratory data of two
provided by the concerned manufacturer and importer respectively have been
accepted by the CFS. The nutrition label information of four products has been
amended by the retailers / manufacturers / importers concerned while the sale of
five has stopped. In addition, warning letters in respect of nine products have
been issued to the concerned retailers / manufacturers / importers for
rectification. As regards the remaining 10 products, replies from the concerned
retailers / producers / importers are awaited and information already provided
by them is being processed. At this stage, no retailer / manufacturer / importer
has been prosecuted.
(c) The CFS plans to check the food labels of 55,000 prepackaged food products
in 2011 to ascertain that the labels contain information including food name,
ingredients, information on the manufacturer or packer, expiry date and weight /
volume, etc, as required by the law. Among these products, around 5,000 will be
checked to ascertain whether they carry nutrition labels that comply with the
statutory requirements. Among them, the nutrient content of 500 food samples
will be analysed for verifying the accuracy of the nutrition labels and
nutrition claims. Items for analysis will include different nutrients such as
carbohydrates, sugars, protein, total fat, trans fatty acids, saturated fatty
acids, sodium, cholesterol and calcium, etc. to ensure that food products sold
in Hong Kong comply with the statutory requirements so as to protect public
health.
The Scheme came into force on July 1, 2010. Information on the arrangements for
enforcement action by the CFS in the first year of the Scheme in cases where
test results show discrepancies between the actual nutrient content and that
stated on the nutrition labels has been provided in part (b) of the reply. The
CFS will step up enforcement and prosecution action in the future.
Ends/Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Issued at HKT 12:56
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