Legislators' doubts likely to delay new food safety department

A plan to set up a department to monitor food safety by April is expected to be delayed after legislators expressed doubts that it could improve the monitoring of mainland and foreign suppliers.

The government's proposal would see the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, and Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department restructured into the Department of Food Safety, Inspection and Quarantine and the Department of Agriculture and Environmental Hygiene.

A Centre for Food Safety would be established under the new food department that would require recurrent spending of $150 million a year.

The plan requires the addition of four directorate posts - including that of a permanent secretary - and 225 non-directorate posts to work in food safety.

Kwok Ka-ki, the legislator for the medical sector, told a Legislative Council panel meeting on the restructuring that the government had given little information to justify the need for the additional posts.

'Officials should not see the importance of monitoring food safety as an excuse to expand their departments. Some department staff told us that they had never been consulted about the plan until today,' he said.