A bill empowering the Director of Food & Environmental Hygiene to make orders to stop importing and supplying problem food and to recall it will be tabled to lawmakers on November 5, the Food & Health Bureau says.

The bureau said the recent incidents of melamine in milk and dairy products have aroused public concern on food safety. The Government must urgently introduce legislation to enhance control of problem food.

The Public Health & Municipal Services (Amendment) Bill 2008, to be gazetted tomorrow, empowers the Director of Food & Environmental Hygiene to make orders administratively if he has reasonable grounds to believe the order is necessary to prevent any danger to public health.

A prohibition of import order will be applied to problematic food products produced by a particular overseas plant or of a particular batch to be imported from overseas.

$100k fine, 12 months in jail for contravention

The director will consider issuing a prohibition of supply order if the problem food has already entered Hong Kong or the food is locally produced or manufactured. Food traders will not be allowed to sell the products concerned for the specified period.

Food traders should recall their food and immediately notify consumers if they receive a food-recall order. The director may also make an order to require them to impound, isolate, destroy or dispose of the problem food. 

Any person contravening an order will be subject to a fine of $100,000 and 12 months in prison.