ENG-2014 — Page 198

Chapter 9

Food Safety,

Environmental Hygiene, Agriculture and Fisheries

With over 90 per cent of its food imported, Hong Kong devotes considerable efforts to ensuring the safety of the wide variety of food available for consumption. The government is committed to maintaining a clean and hygienic living environment and to protecting the public from threats of zoonotic disease.

Organisational Framework

The Food and Health Bureau (FHB) is responsible for drawing up policies (and allocating resources for their implementation) on food safety, environmental hygiene, animal health and welfare, agriculture and fisheries in Hong Kong. It works closely with the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD), the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) and the Government Laboratory (GL).

The FEHD ensures that food sold in Hong Kong is safe and fit for consumption and that a clean and hygienic living environment is maintained for the people of Hong Kong.

The AFCD implements policies supporting the agricultural and fisheries industries and provides farmers and fishermen with infrastructural and technical support such as market facilities and animal disease diagnostic services. The department also administers loans to them and advises the government on animal health and welfare matters.

The GL provides testing services to support the regular food surveillance programme of the

FEHD's Centre for Food Safety (CFS) and assists the CFS in handling food incidents.

Licensing of Food Premises and Other Trades

The FEHD is the licensing authority for food businesses. It issues various food business licences, permits for the sale of restricted foods (including Chinese herb tea, milk, frozen confections, sushi and sashimi, permits for karaoke establishments and licences for places of public entertainment (such as theatres, cinemas and entertainment machine centres). It also licenses private swimming pools, commercial bathhouses, funeral parlours, undertakers of burials and factories engaged in offensive trades. The FEHD provides executive and secretarial support to

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