Fears over closure of unlicensed food outlets

Efforts are being made to speed the closure of unlicensed food premises, but lawmakers fear it may hit the catering industry as a whole. There are about 780 such premises, with 500 applying for licences.

A proposed amendment would empower the director of Food and Environmental Hygiene to apply directly to a court when seeking a closure order.

Currently the department has to prosecute the operator of an unlicensed food establishment by summons and secure a conviction before applying to the court for a prohibition order. The department can apply for a closure order only if the prohibition order has been breached and the operator convicted. The process can take up to nine months.

Last year the department succeeded in applying only one closure order out of 558 prohibition orders. Applying directly to the court could cut the time needed to close unlicensed food premises to six weeks.

The director would also be empowered to close food premises temporarily without recourse to the courts on grounds of an immediate health hazard.

Tommy Cheung Yu-yan of the Liberal Party, on behalf of the catering sector, said he feared the move would affect the industry's business. Deputy Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene, Sarah Wu Po-chu, said the proposed amendment was specifically aimed at illegal slaughtering and roasting activities.