The legislation on the control of the use of preservatives and antioxidants in food has been amended and came into effect on July 1, 2008. To allow sufficient time for the members of the food trade to prepare for the changes brought about by the Amendment Regulation, a transitional period of two years has been given and ended on June 30, 2010.
The former Preservatives in Food Regulations were repealed on July 1, 2010. With effective from July 1, 2010, all food must comply with the amended regulation. For the details of the amended regulation (Preservatives in Food Regulation, Cap. 132BD), please visit the website of Bilingual Laws Information System.
Preservatives in Food (Amendment) Regulation 2008 - End of Transitional Period
Press release – Grace period for food preservatives regulation to end on June 30
User Guidelines
The following User Guidelines aim to assist the trade in having a better understanding of the Amendment Regulation, especially the new food category system contained in Schedule 1 of the legislation, and to answer some of the frequently asked questions.
Legislative Amendment
Preservatives in Food (Amendment) Regulation 2008 – Legislative Council Brief (PDF)
Public Consultation and Technical Meetings for Trade
The Centre for Food Safety started public consultation on proposed amendments to the Preservatives in Food Regulations on 14 December 2006 . The purpose of the consultation is to seek views from members of the public, trade and other stakeholders on the broad direction and principles of the amendment exercise. Two public consultation forums were held on 23 January 2007 at the Hong Kong Science Museum and 7 February 2007 at the Hong Kong Central Library respectively. The consultation period ended on 28 February 2007 .
Consultation document
Powerpoints used in consultation forums
- Powerpoint – Preservatives and Antioxidants, Their Functional Mechanisms in Food ( PDF )
- Powerpoint – Consultation on Amendment to Preservatives in Food Regulations ( PDF )
Consultation results
Five technical meetings for trade were held on 12 April 2007 , 20 June 2007 , 13 September 2007 , 20 December 2007 and 29 May 2008 respectively at Conference Hall, 3/F, Edinburgh Place , Central.