Legislative panel to study draft law
A food recall bill will be tabled with the legislature for first and second readings early next month, said a government source.
The source, who is close to the Food and Health Bureau, said the bill would first be tabled with the Legislative Council's food safety and environmental hygiene panel for discussion tomorrow. It will then go before all lawmakers at a council meeting on November 5.
The source said it was not yet known when the law would come into effect, and this would depend on the progress of the legislation.
Under the proposed law, the director of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department would be able to ban the import and supply of any food product and order a recall of suspect products.
The source said an order would be made only if the director had reasonable grounds to believe it was 'necessary to prevent or reduce a possibility of danger to public health, or to mitigate any adverse consequence of a danger to public health'.
He said the department would not abuse its power. The director would consider a number of factors when making a decision to recall products, including the results of tests by local and overseas food safety authorities, relevant information provided by food traders, and the statutory standards concerning substances in food.