Advertisement
Advertisement

Misleading pet food labels spark call for new regulations

Peter So

The Consumer Council has called for regulation of labels on commercial pet food, after misleading labels were found in stores.

In one case, the label description was different in the Chinese and English versions. The English label called the dog food 'beef flavour', while the Chinese version said 'beef canned food' - a clear case of a misleading description, the council said.

According to the Association of American Feed Control Officials, the product names of pet food must be based on the percentage of ingredients used. For example, food described as 'flavour' requires less than 3 per cent of the named meat or meat by-product.

Products labelled 'with' a certain ingredient must contain at least 3 per cent of the ingredient.

Those called 'entree', 'platter' or 'formula' must contain at least 25 per cent of the named ingredients.

When labels state 'beef for dogs' or 'tuna cat food', say, the primary ingredient must make up at least 95 per cent of the product.

Ron Hui Shu-yuen, the council's vice-chairman of publicity and community relations, said: 'The problem is that pet food nutritional labels are not regulated in Hong Kong, unlike in some countries such as the US, UK and Australia.'

Consumers should check ingredient lists and feeding guidelines to determine ingredients and estimate the portions their pets needed daily.

The council urged the government to pass laws regulating pet food. The Customs and Excise Department said it would look at the issue and take appropriate action if breaches of the Trade Descriptions Ordinance were found.

A spokeswoman for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals backed the council's appeal.

'Animals need the same level of protection in food safety as humans enjoy,' she said, noting that Hong Kong last year passed a food labelling law for products meant for humans.

Meanwhile, the Consumer Council warned people against brewing tea from teabags or tea leaves, for a long time because that released contaminants.

Of 46 samples, the council found two that failed to meet food safety standards - notably the lead content in oolong tea produced by the Choi Wan Hin Seafood Restaurant in Tsim Sha Tsui exceeded limits, but the council said a person would have to drink 13 litres to suffer ill effects; and the levels of DDT, a pesticide, in Shen Long Chinese Ti Kuan Yin teabags was found to exceed safety limits, but the council said the tea was safe to drink because the contaminants were so diluted.

Post