China Hong Kong The Preservatives in Food (Amendment) Regulation 2024 (the“Amendment Regulation”) came into operation
30th Dec, 2024
The Preservatives in Food (Amendment) Regulation 2024 (the“Amendment Regulation”) came into operation on 30 December 2024. The commencement has been followed by the 24-month transitional period, which will end on 29 December 2026.
It was set out in the Policy Measures of the Chief Executive's 2022 Policy Address that the Government would review and update by phases the food safety legislation relating to additives in food to further enhance food safety. The first phase covers preservatives and antioxidants in food. It was further set out in the Policy Measures of the Chief Executive's 2023 Policy Address that the Government would complete the related legislative exercise within 2024.
The objective of the Amendment Regulation is to keep local food safety standards on par with international standards, thereby enhancing consumer protection and facilitating the food trade. The Amendment Regulation has kept the standards of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex) as the backbone, supplemented with those adopted by the Mainland and by Hong Kong's other major food trading partners.
The Amendment Regulation updates the definitions of “preservative” and “antioxidant” with reference to the corresponding definitions adopted by Codex. The list of permitted preservatives / antioxidants has also been updated, which comprises 58 preservatives / antioxidants after the legislative amendments. The number of “additive-food” pairs with specified maximum permitted levels has increased from around 900 to around 2 000.
Reference
https://www.cfs.gov.hk/english/whatsnew/whatsnew_fstr/whatsnew_fstr_Proposed_Amendments_Preservatives_Food_Regulation.html