RESTRICTED
XCR(80)120
Proposals
6
- 2 -
In order to encourage more factory owners to provide catering facilities for their workers, the Director of Urban Services has proposed that the legislation be amended as in the Food Business (New Territories) (Amendment) Regulations 1980, annexed to provide for a new class of food business to be known as factory canteens. The main features of the proposals are:-
7
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
All canteens in factory buildings will have to be licensed as food businesses, namely, factory canteens. This includes canteens currently exempted from licensing requirements because they serve only workers in the factory where the canteen is operated (regulations 2 and 3);
Under the terms of the licence, factory canteens will be permitted to serve workers from all factories in the same building (see definition of "factory canteen" in regulation 3(b));
Apart from hygiene requirements, the licensing conditions will be less stringent than those applied ro public restaurants. The proposed minimum aggregate area of kitchen, food pre- paration room and scullery accommodation is 15% of the gross floor area compared to the minimum standard of 21% for a general res- taurant (regulations 4 and 7); and
The licence fees for factory canteens will be similar to those payable by light refreshment restaurants (regulation 6).
Careful consideration has also been given to the enforcement aspect. The terms of the licence will stipulate that such canteens are to be restricted only to workers from the same factory building and that canteen operators may be required to devise some system of identi- fication. Spot checks will be made by health inspectors to ensure that licensing conditions are being complied with. While the possibility of external patronage cannot be ruled out, it is not felt that members of the public will choose to use these factory canteens and the chances of old people and children finding their way into industrial buildings are relatively remote. Given the acute shortage of catering facilities in industrial areas, the proposal represents a reasonable compromise to facilitate the supply of more hygienic meals for factory workers.
G.S. 84
RESTRICTED