On October 10, 2024, the Preservatives in Food (Amendment) Regulation 2024 (L.N. No. 130 of 2024) (hereinafter referred to as the Amendment Regulation) was officially gazetted, which is aimed at the current Chapter 132BD Preservatives in Food Regulation in Hong Kong. The Amendment Regulation will officially come into effect on December 30, and a two-year transition period is set, which will start from December 30 and end on December 29, 2026.
The Amendment Regulation is mainly based on the standards of Codex Alimentarius Commission, with reference to the standards adopted by the mainland and other major food trading partners of Hong Kong, China. The Amendment Regulation updated the definitions and lists of "preservatives" and "antioxidants", meanwhile updated the food classification system and exempted the management of food for special medical purpose.
01 Implementation date
The Amendment Regulation was solicited opinions from all parties from May 29 to September 30, 2023. After two meetings for in-depth discussions, it was officially gazetted on October 10, 2024. It was then submitted to the Legislative Council on October 16, 2024, starting the process of first drafting and then reviewing, and the review process was successfully completed on November 13, 2024.
During the two-year transition period after the Amendment Regulation officially takes effect, products will be deemed compliant as long as they meet either the new or old Regulation. However, it should be noted that: (1) each product can only comply with either the new or old Regulation, and cannot be implemented by referring to both the new and old Regulation at the same time; (2) After the transition period, it is necessary to ensure that products fully comply with the provisions of the Amendment Regulation. Therefore, enterprises should make full use of the two-year transition period to complete the upgrading of products on the market to adapt to the new Regulation.
02 Updated the corresponding definitions and permitted lists
(1) Updated the definition of food to remove food for special medical purpose from the Amendment Regulation.
(2) Updated the definitions of "preservative" and "antioxidant" with reference to the definitions of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, and expanded the number of preservatives and antioxidants regulated by the Amendment Regulation from 32 to 58. Among them, 24 are food additives that can generally be used in foods and should be used in accordance with the principles of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP). This list is set out in Schedule 1B to the Amendment Regulation. Schedule 1C immediately following this specified the food excluded from the use of food additives in accordance with GMP.
(3) On the basis of the existing Chapter 132 BD Preservatives in Food Regulation, the Amendment Regulation updated Schedule 1 Food which may Contain Food Additive and the Description and Proportion of Food Additives in Each Case, adjusting the corresponding combinations of "additive - food" and specifying them in terms of food category No., food classification, permitted additives, permitted maximum levels and note.
03 Release of supporting guidelines
In November 2024, the Centre for Food Safety organized the third meeting to discuss the draft of supporting guidelines for the Amendment Regulation. The guidelines mainly covers the use of new preservatives and antioxidants in the Amendment Regulation, the food classification system and FAQs after the implementation of the Amendment Regulation.
The guidelines interpreted the overall structure and principles of bringing in of the Amended Regulation. At the same time, to support the new food classification system, specific and detailed information on certain food categories and their selenium classifications will be provided so that food enterprises can determine the food categories to which their products are applicable.
04 About test methods
Regarding testing standards for preservatives and antioxidants, food enterprises can refer to the discussions at the technical meeting on October 27, 2023, which introduced relevant information on preservatives and antioxidants covered by the Amendment Regulation, including reference analytical methods, criteria for method selection and selection guidelines for confirmation of laboratory method.
Food enterprises should note that the information at the meeting mentioned that although some low-risk food additives (such as GMP) are rarely sampled, importers/manufacturers may be required to provide information on the added mixtures. It is recommended that enterprises make reasonable controls in advance.
It had been more than a year since the Centre for Food Safety of Hong Kong, China proposed to adjust the requirements of Chapter 132BD Preservatives in Food Regulation. This revision is quite substantial, and the transition period is extended from the initial 18 months to 24 months. Previously, the Centre for Food Safety stated that the supporting guidelines will be updated before the Amendment Regulation officially takes effect, and it is expected that the official version of the supporting guidelines will be released in the near future. Antion will continue to follow up on the release of relevant supporting documents, and recommends that enterprises exporting foods to Hong Kong keep abreast of changes in relevant regulations, and properly complete product upgrades to ensure that they meet the corresponding requirements of the Hong Kong, China market.
Source: Antion
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