Strengthened Supervision against Online Sale of Restricted Food
by the Government
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| Newsletter no.: NFD/G/16/04/75 |
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Chemlab HK Newsletter Highlight –
Strengthened Supervision against Online Sale of Restricted Food
by the Government
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| Dear [FIRSTNAME], |
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Since online shopping is very convenient and help us to save time, there is a raising trend in online shopping, especially online sale of food. Although purchasing food online can help us to save a lot of time, the food safety problems raised are also unneglectable. As most online shops do not have physical store address, consumers as well as government authority are unable to examine their storage environment and their food quality in order to ensure food safety. In order to strengthen the supervision of online sale of food, “Restricted Food Permits” has to be granted for selling restricted food online. The public can search for licenced online shop to ensure food quality and food safety. Critical regulations of the Permit are summarized as below:
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When the permittee displays the restricted food for sale or offer for sale of the food through the website or online platform account specified in the permit, such description of the food hall conform to the description of the restricted food endorsed on the permit
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2. |
The permittee shall provide the following particulars of the permit on the website, online platform account and printed promotional materials: |
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a) |
type of permit obtained and its permit number |
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b) |
type of restricted food permitted for sale |
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c) |
business address of the permitted premises
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3. |
Only food obtained from licensed food factories / lawful sources and/or other sources approved by the Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene shall be sold
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All food shall be delivered from the supplier(s) to customers in the original and intact package without being contaminated or tampered with
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Neither storage nor handling (such as cutting up, slicing, packing or wrapping, etc.) of chilled and/or frozen meat shall be allowed on the business premises
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During conveyance from the supplier(s) to customers, food shall be kept hygienically and under specified temperature at all times. Additional criterions may be needed depends on types of restricted food (Refer as the table below)
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Equipment used for the delivery of the pre-packaged chilled and/or frozen meat shall be cleansed with water and anti-bacterial detergent at least once daily
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| Types of Restricted Food |
Temperature Required during Delivery (℃) |
Additional Criterions |
| Pre-packaged chilled meat |
0 to 4 |
Not applicable |
| Pre-packaged frozen meat |
Below 0 |
Frozen meat shall not be sold or offered for sale as chilled meat |
| Pre-packaged chilled shell fish |
0 to 4 |
Not applicable |
| Pre-packaged frozen shell fish |
Below 0 |
Not applicable |
| Frozen confections in original cups and wrappers |
Below or equal to -2 |
Not applicable |
| Pre-packaged oyster to be eaten in raw state |
0 to 4 |
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Separated from other articles of food |
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Indicated source of supply or origin in Chinese
or English
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Labelled with the use-by date for consumption and tamper of the label |
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| Pre-packaged sushi and/or sashimi |
0 to 4 |
Separated from other articles of food |
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Most of the restricted foods are chilled / frozen raw meat and seafood, as well as high risk ready-to-eat food. These kind of ready-to-eat food have a higher risk of contaminated with pathogens and does not require cooking process before consumption. When the food is not handled properly (e.g. store at > 4℃), excessive growth of pathogen may lead to food poisoning problems. Similar situation may also occur when undercooked raw food is consumed which raises the risk of food poisoning. This Permit not only restricting the food storage environment and management but also hygiene during delivery. Temperature during delivery shall be strictly controlled and the container shall be cleaned at least one time per day so as to ensure food safety.
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Besides microbiological hazards, attentions should also be paid on chemical contamination of food. Oyster may contain high levels of heavy metals such as cadmium and lead, which may affect renal and neurological function. On the other hand, veterinary drug residual such as chloramphenicol may be found in meat and seafood products. The use of chloramphenicol is banned in Hong Kong and all foods shall not contain any levels of chloramphenicol since it can damage the bone marrow. In serious cases, use of chloramphenicol can lead to a fatal disease, aplastic anemia although such cases are not common. Recently, pigs and oriental clams were found to contain chloramphenicol and it shows that the problem of veterinary drug residuals still exist in Hong Kong.
Although details for selling foods other from restricted food are not included in the Permit, when selling food through online platforms, it is restricted by the Food Safety Ordinance and Part V of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance. Regulations should be strictly followed in order to safeguard public health.
Chemlab HK provides a variety of food testing services including microbiological analysis, heavy metal and veterinary drug residuals which helps to ensure food safety and quality. Suggested testing parameters for restricted foods are listed as below:
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| Types of Restricted Food |
Suggested Testing Parameters |
| Microbiological Analysis |
Chemical Analysis |
| Pre-packaged chilled / frozen meat |
E. coli
S. aureus
Salmonella spp.
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Heavy Metals
Veterinary Drug Residuals
Preservatives
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Pre-packaged chilled / frozen shell fish
Pre-packaged oyster to be eaten in raw state
Pre-packaged sushi and/or sashimi
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Aerobic Plate Count
E. coli
S. aureus
Vibrio cholerae
Vibrio parahaemolyticus
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Heavy Metals
Preservatives
Malachite Green
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| Frozen confections in original cups and wrappers |
Aerobic Plate Count
E. coli
Total Coliform
S. aureus
Salmonella spp.
Listeria monocytogenes
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Preservatives
Artificial Colorant
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Other than the above analysis, Chemlab HK also provides swab testing for analyzing sanitary level and the cleaning efficiency of food containers. Please contact us on 2606 7178 or by email to info@chemlab.hk for more details.
Reference links:
http://www.fehd.gov.hk/english/howtoseries/forms/new/FoodPermit_online.pdf
http://www.cfs.gov.hk/english/whatsnew/whatsnew_fst/whatsnew_fst_Online_sale_of_food.html
http://www.cfs.gov.hk/english/press/20151112_0398.html
http://www.cfs.gov.hk/english/press/20151106_0392.html
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to get more information about food safety and our testing services. |
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| Chemical Laboratory or CHEMLAB in short, is a member of the KAM Holdings Group of Companies - a group specializing in many aspects of scientific and technological services in this part of the world. To know more about us, please click here or visit www.chemlabgroup.com. |
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May Leung
Business Development and Quality Manager
Tel：(852) 2606 7178 Mob：(852) 9106 6761
Fax：(852) 2310 2990 Email : may.leung@chemlab.hk
Address: Room 2001-2, 20/F, Trendy Centre, 682-684 Castle Peak Road, Lai Chi Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong
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Disclaimer: The information contained is educational and does not replace any legal requirements or applicable
regulations. It is not intended to constitute consulting or professional advice. Chemlab HK does not warrant that
it will be error-free or will meet any particular criteria of performance or quality.
Do not quote or refer any information herein without Chemlab HK’s prior written consent.
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