Views exchange: Secretary for Health, Welfare & Food Dr York Chow (left) holds a meeting with the German Federal Minister of Health Ulla Schmidt (second right) in Berlin to learn more about the German healthcare system.

Secretary for Health, Welfare & Food Dr York Chow has met with German health officials to exchange views on the healthcare system and food-safety issues during his visit to Berlin.

He met Federal Minister of Health Ulla Schmidt and State Secretary, Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture & Consumer Protection Gert Lindemann.

He also held an in-depth discussion on food-safety issues with the Federation Office of Consumer Protection & Food Safety.

The Federal Minister of Health offered some insights into the German healthcare system, which accounts for a large proportion of national spending. Apart from taxation, it is paid for with contributions from employers and individuals.

Healthy lifestyle promoted

To tackle the ever-increasing healthcare spending,like many other places including Hong Kong, Germany is embarking on a more proactive approach. It encourages the public to more actively take care of their own health by leading a more healthy lifestyle, reducing the number of medical consultations and hospital stays.

Coinciding with Dr Chow's views, the Minister reckoned  preventive care should be the first priority, ahead of cure, and rehabilitation was an area that needed more emphasis.

In the meeting with the Federation Office of Consumer Protection & Food Safety, Dr Chow was given a good understanding of the German system of food-safety assurance.

Apart from relying on the European Union as a gatekeeper in monitoring food imports, the German Federation made good use of electronic facilities including the Internet to keep a watchful eye on potential threats.

Dr Chow noted the Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety was also widely using the Internet to complement official sources of information.

He learned individual states also had the obligation to gather intelligence at their own level to inform the Federal level, while importers and wholesalers are legally bound to ensure their supplies were safe for consumption.

Consumer information law tabled

State Secretary Gert Lindemann told Dr Chow the German government is making efforts to enhance consumers' right to information and that a consumer information law had been put to the Parliament.

Upon its enactment, consumers would enjoy the right to seek clarification of food claims from the suppliers.

Mr Lindemann remarked that, unlike some countries, the German government does not believe it is the government's responsibility to advise consumers whether a food is healthy to eat, adding the role of his government is to provide sufficient information for the consumers to make their own decision.

Dr Chow also paid a courtesty call to China's Ambassador to Germany, Ma Canrong.