Press Releases
Guangdong and HK meet on exchanges and co-operation in food safety (with photo and video)
Guangdong and Hong Kong today (May 14) held the second working meeting on
Exchanges and Co-operation in Food Safety for Hong Kong/Guangdong to review the
operation of the Framework Agreement on Exchanges and Co-operation in Food
Safety for Hong Kong/Guangdong which was signed last year.
The Guangdong side was led by the Director-General of Guangdong Food and Drug
Administration (GDFDA), Mr Chen Yuansheng. The GDFDA represents Guangdong under
the Agreement. Discussions focused on problematic food for internal consumption
found in Guangdong and its impact on Hong Kong.
Leading the Hong Kong side was the Permanent Secretary for Health, Welfare and
Food, Mrs Carrie Yau. She noted the agreement signed last year had strengthened
Hong Kong's liaison, communication and co-operation with Guangdong Provincial
Government, facilitating a more effective exchange of food safety information
between two places.
Mrs Yau noted food for supply to Hong Kong and those intended for domestic
consumption were subjected to different regulatory regime. However, given the
heavy passenger and freight flow between Hong Kong and Guangdong, the Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region Government also paid special attention to
information on Mainland food that was not designated for supply to Hong Kong.
"Food safety closely concerns our everyday life. Guangdong Province is the hub
for food supply to Hong Kong. Close co-operation between the governments of the
two places can enhance the mechanism of disseminating food safety information
which helps remove anxieties," she said.
Noting that the media had reported on test results on Mainland food from time to
time but people in Hong Kong were not clear about the different regulatory
regimes the Mainland authorities applied to food for domestic consumption and
those for supplying Hong Kong , the meeting proposed to enhance the mechanism
for food testing and information dissemination as follows:
*Information notification had progressed from one-sided report from Guangdong
Province to Hong Kong to mutual notification. Items for notification expanded
from specific items to comprehensive items. All those items that were of concern
to the public were included. Last year, notification on results of several food
tests and food surveillance were made, and both sides responded positively to
each other's enquiries on food safety; and
*It was time to further refine the co-operation mechanism to better address
public demand for the administration to safeguard food safety. The Mainland
would inform Hong Kong as soon as possible when announcing reports on
problematic food to facilitate the relevant departments to take follow-up
actions, including checking whether such food had entered into Hong Kong.
At the meeting, both sides also exchanged views on test results of their
respective food surveillance programme in 2006. The Hong Kong side introduced
the technical regulations and standard adopted by the food laboratory, the local
accredited farm and voluntary vegetable farm registration schemes.
In the afternoon, the Guangdong representatives visited the Government
Laboratory as well as the Tai Lung Veterinary Laboratory under the Agriculture,
Fisheries and Conservation Department to have a feel of their testing facilities
and to foster communication among experts.
Other representatives from Hong Kong included the Director of Food and
Environmental Hygiene, Mr Eddy Chan; the Director of Agriculture, Fisheries and
Conservation, Mrs Stella Hung; Controller of Centre for Food Safety, Dr Mak
Sin-ping; and Government Chemist, Dr Ting Tai-lun. In addition to the GDFDA, the
Guangdong side was also represented by the Agriculture Department, Health
Department, Administration for Industry and Commerce, Oceanic and Fishery
Administration as well as the Department of Quality and Technology Supervision
of the Guangdong Province.
Ends/Monday, May 14, 2007
Issued at HKT 16:02
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(Photo)
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