Introduction
One of the initiatives set out in the Supplement of the Chief Executive's 2024 Policy Address is to review food safety standards regarding metal content in food under the Food Adulteration (Metallic Contamination) Regulations (the Regulations) with reference to international standards and practices, with a view to formulating legislative amendment proposals and launching public consultation in 2024-25.
The Government conducted a review on the Regulations with a view to better protecting public health, facilitating effective regulation and promoting harmonisation between local and international standards. The proposed amendments to the Regulations aims at to keep abreast of international development on maximum levels (MLs) of metallic contaminants in food. Twenty seven new MLs for specified metal in specified food (food pair) are proposed to add and 9 MLs for existing food pairs are proposed to be updated in the Regulations, with reference to latest standards of Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex) and major food importing places. The total number of MLs will increase from 144 to 171 in Part 2 of the Schedule to the Regulations.
Public Consultation (16 December 2024 – 16 February 2025)
Two consultation forums will be arranged.
1st forum (27 Dec 2024) and 2nd forum (17 Jan 2025)
*For details regarding the Codex food classification and definitions of food commodities, please refer to the website of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (http://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/codex-texts/list-standards/en/).