Objectives
The Committee on Reduction of Salt and Sugar in Food (CRSS) , the former Food and Health Bureau and the Centre for Food Safety of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department jointly introduced a voluntary “Salt / Sugar” Label Scheme for Prepackaged Food Products (the Scheme) in 2017 to help consumers identify low-salt-low-sugar products more easily and make informed choices. It is also wished that the Scheme will serve as a catalyst for the trade to provide more varieties of low-salt-low-sugar products for consumers.
Details of the Scheme
Design of Label
- A set of 4 labels: “Low Salt”, “No Salt”, “Low Sugar” and “No Sugar”.
- 3 language versions: Chinese, English, Bilingual.
- Available in colour and black-and-white version.
Colour version
Bilingual
Chinese
English
Black-and-white version
Bilingual
Chinese
English
Applicable Products
Any prepackaged food falling within the definition of “low salt”, “no salt”, “low sugar” and “no sugar” under the Food and Drugs (Composition and Labelling) Regulations (Cap. 132 W).
| Nutrient | Description of claim | Conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Sodium (Salt) | Low | Food, solid or liquid, containing not more than 0.12 g of sodium per 100 g/mL of food. |
| No | Food, solid or liquid, containing not more than 0.005 g of sodium per 100 g/mL of food. | |
| Sugars | Low |
Solid food containing not more than 5 g of sugars per 100 g of food; or liquid food containing not more than 5 g of sugars per 100 mL of food. |
| No |
Solid food containing not more than 0.5 g of sugars per 100 g of food; or liquid food containing not more than 0.5 g of sugars per 100 mL of food. |
Great Flexibility for the Trade
- Voluntary participation.
- The trade may decide the size of the label(s) on their own but the label(s) should be clear and legible.
- Labels should be printed or stuck prominently on the food packaging.
Download label file
Colour version (with pantone number)
- Label file (Colour / Bilingual version) (JPEG file)
- Label file (Colour / Bilingual version) (AI file)
- Label file (Colour / Chinese version) (JPEG file)
- Label file (Colour / Chinese version) (AI file)
- Label file (Colour / English version) (JPEG file)
- Label file (Colour / English version) (AI file)
Black-and-white version
- Label file (Black-and-white / Bilingual version) (JPEG file)
- Label file (Black-and-white / Bilingual version) (AI file)
- Label file (Black-and-white / Chinese version) (JPEG file)
- Label file (Black-and-white / Chinese version) (AI file)
- Label file (Black-and-white / English version) (JPEG file)
- Label file (Black-and-white / English version) (AI file)
How to participate in the Scheme 
- Trade members are requested to complete the Notification Form of Implementation of “Salt / Sugar” Label Scheme for Prepackaged Food Products (FEHB 277) and send it together with the relevant product information to the Centre for Food Safety (CFS). Trade members may also notify the CFS through a submittable e-Form (FEHB 277).
-
The Scheme primarily aims at helping customers to identify low-salt-low-sugar prepackaged food products. Products participating in the Scheme must not be high in sodium and/or sugar content. Therefore, products should not use any of the “Low Salt”, “No Salt”, “Low Sugar” and “No Sugar” labels under the following circumstances, even though they meet the relevant conditions of the nutrition claims in the related regulation:
(1) Products that are low in / do not contain sugars but are high in sodium; or
(2) Products that are low in / do not contain sodium but are high in sugars.(reference values for high sodium and high sugars* are listed below –
- High sodium: Solid food containing more than 600 mg of sodium per 100 g of food or liquid food containing more than 300 mg of sodium per 100 mL of food;
- High sugar: Solid food containing more than 15 g of sugars per 100 g of food or liquid food containing more than 7.5 g of sugars per 100 mL of food.) -
The trade must obtain prior consent from the CFS before using the labels under the Scheme on each relevant product. CFS will send an email to the trade in 10 working days to confirm the use of the labels.**
-
Information of the products under the Scheme will be uploaded to this website.
- If the label(s) could not be displayed on the food packaging, trade members are welcome to display the label(s) on the publicity materials of the relevant food outside the Scheme.
- The scope of the Scheme is limited to the sodium and sugar content of a product. No other nutritional aspects are covered under the Scheme.
* Reference values are set out in the CFS Shopping Card which offers "Tips for Choosing Healthier Food".
** CFS will refer to the nutrition label information of the products provided by the trade when considering whether they are appropriate for the products to use the labels.
