The basic food law in Hong Kong is set out in Part V of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132 of Laws of Hong Kong) ("PHMSO"). The main provisions cover general protection for food purchasers, offenses in connection with the sale of unfit food and adulterated food, composition and labeling of food, food hygiene, and seizure and destruction of unfit food. In particular, the PHMSO provides the general principle that any food sold or offered for sale should be fit for human consumption. It is also required that the food as offered or sold must also be of the nature, substance and quality demanded by the purchaser. All descriptions on food should be true and non-misleading as to nature, substance or quality.

In addition, the Food Safety Ordinance (Cap. 612) ("FSO") provides food safety control measures, including a registration scheme for food importers and food distributors, and a requirement for food traders to maintain proper records of the movement of food to enhance food traceability. It also
empowers the authorities to make regulations for tightening import control on specific food types and orders to prohibit the import and supply of problematic foods, as well as to order the recall of such foods. Under the FSO, the Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene ("DFEH") has the power to make a food safety order prohibiting the import/supply of any food, or directing that any food be recalled, impounded, isolated, destroyed or otherwise disposed of. Under the FSO, food traders need to maintain proper records of food movement to enhance food traceability.

Specific regulations
Various secondary regulations under the PHMSO apply to specific categories of food products, such as:

• Colouring Matter in Food Regulations (Cap. 132H);
• Dried Milk Regulations (Cap. 132R);
• Sweeteners in Food Regulations (Cap. 132U);
• Food Adulteration (Metallic Contamination) Regulations (Cap. 132V);
• Food and Drugs (Composition and Labelling) Regulations (Cap. 132W);
• Frozen Confections Regulation (Cap. 132AC);
• Harmful Substances in Food Regulations (Cap. 132AF);
• Imported Game, Meat, Poultry and Eggs Regulations (Cap. 132AK);
• Milk Regulation (Cap. 132AQ);
• Mineral Oil in Food Regulations (Cap. 132AR); and
• Preservatives in Food Regulation (Cap. 132BD).

Pharmaceutical products
Pharmaceutical products are regulated separately. Depending on the composition and usage claims of a product, it may be classified as a "pharmaceutical product" (as opposed to a general food product) such that pharmaceutical registration is required under the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance (Cap. 138) ("PPO").

As a general remark, no medicinal claims (i.e., claims referring to the diagnosis or treatment of a specific disease or symptom) should be made in relation to food products, to avoid pharmaceutical classification.

Pursuant to the Guidance Notes on Classification of Products as "Pharmaceutical Products" under the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance (Cap. 138) ("Guidance Notes"), a product which the average consumer would regard as something to be eaten, drunk or chewed as part of his/her diet, for
example, because of its taste, flavor or nutritional value, is unlikely to be classified as a pharmaceutical product unless it contains one or more ingredients generally regarded as a medicinal substance and indicative of a medical use. Whether a particular product falls within the definition of a "pharmaceutical product" is determined on a case-by-case basis, and product information including the product's composition, presentation, purpose and promotional material
will be assessed.

It should be noted that, according to the Guidance Notes, vitamin products (except in injection form) are generally not considered pharmaceutical products unless they belong to certain categories in oral dose form, e.g., Vitamin A with a daily dose of not less than 10,000 I.U. Minerals (e.g., calcium, copper, iodine, iron, magnesium and zinc), except in injection form, are generally not regarded as "medicinal" and use of such substances in itself should not affect the classification of the product.

All pre-packaged food for sale in Hong Kong must comply with the requirements under the Food and Drugs (Composition and Labelling) Regulations (Cap. 132W) ("FDR"), which set out requirements on general labeling, nutrition labeling/claims, as well as on the composition of different categories of milk (e.g., skimmed milk, milk beverage, etc.).

The following information is required to be provided on the labels of pre-packaged food:

• name of the food;
• list of ingredients (in descending order of weight or volume determined as at the time of their use when the food was packaged)
  • The presence of any of the eight listed substances known to cause allergies should be declared. These include cereals containing gluten; crustacea and crustacean products; eggs and egg products; fish and fish products; peanuts, soybeans and their products; milk and milk products (lactose included); tree nuts and nut products; and sulphite in concentrations of 10 parts per million or more.
  • Any additives should be listed by both the functional class and the specific name or the identification number under the International Numbering System for Food Additives adopted by the Codex Alimentarius Commission.
• indication of "use by" or "best before" date (durability indication) in both Chinese and English, in the prescribed format;
• statement of special conditions for storage or instructions for use;
• name and address of manufacturer or packer (or otherwise in accordance with the requirements as stipulated in the FDR); and
• count, weight or volume of food.

Schedule 3 of the Food and Drugs (Composition and Labeling) Regulations (Cap. 132W) provides that:

• food labels can be in either English only, Chinese only, or both English and Chinese;
• durability indication must be in both English and Chinese; and
• the name of the food and list of ingredients must also be in both English and Chinese, if both languages are used on the label.

In general, pre-packaged food must be "legibly marked or labelled" with the requisite information. If any brand name is used which would be likely to mislead a purchaser in any respect as to the nature of the food, such name or mark shall be immediately followed by the word "Brand" (??) or the letters "TM" (??), as appropriate, printed in legible letters or characters of not less than 3mm in height.

Specific requirements on the display of information apply for milk and cream products, frozen confections, tenderized meat and irradiated foods.

Genetically modified foods are permitted in Hong Kong.

The Guidelines on Voluntary Labeling of Genetically Modified (GM) Food ("Guidelines") issued by the Centre for Food Safety ("CFS") of the Hong Kong Government set out the principles underlying the recommended approaches for GM food, and provide reference for the trader to make truthful and informative labels in a consumer-friendly manner. 

The Guidelines are advisory in nature and not legally binding. The Guidelines state the following:

• Any food items with 5% or more GM materials in their respective food ingredient(s) should be labelled as "genetically modified" in parenthesis following the name of the food/food ingredient in the list of ingredients. Alternatively, the words "genetically modified" may appear in a prominent footnote to the list of ingredients, whereas the ingredient concerned would be marked with an asterisk "*". However, the font size of the footnote should be at least the same size as the list of ingredients. 
• For any GM food with significant modifications that have taken place under the following conditions, the label should provide additional words in conjunction with the name of the food or food ingredients to inform consumers of the changed characteristics:

o the composition or nutritional value is significantly different from that of its conventional counterpart; 

o the level of anti-nutritional factors or natural toxicants is significantly different from that in its conventional counterpart;

o the presence of an allergen that is not found in its conventional counterpart;

o the intended use of the food is significantly different from that of its conventional counterpart; or

o an animal gene has been introduced into food of plant origin.

• If any GM foods and their products of plant origin contain animal genes, additional information regarding the origin of the animal gene following the name of food ingredient is recommended.
• "GM free" and similar labels (e.g. GMO free, free from GM ingredients, etc.) will give consumers the impression that the food products so labelled are totally free of GM content. Since there is the possibility of unintentional mixing of GM and non-GM crops, a truly "GM free" status is very difficult to attain. Such absolute terms may therefore be misleading to consumers and are not recommended to be used.

Nutrition content claims are subject to the conditions laid out in Schedule 5 of the Food and Drugs (Composition and Labeling) Regulations (Cap. 132W) ("FDR") and the Technical Guidance Notes on Nutrition Labeling and Nutrition Claims issued by the Centre for Food Safety ("CFS") of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department ("FEHD").

There are no specific regulations in relation to claims about the health benefits of foods. However, traders must ensure that, in addition to Part V of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132) ("PHMSO"), they comply with the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (Cap. 362), which prohibits false trade descriptions, false, misleading or incomplete information, false marks and misstatements in respect of goods and services. Therefore, any claims on the health benefits of foods must be capable of being substantiated.

Care must also be taken to ensure that health claims do not amount to medicinal claims which can lead to a pharmaceutical product classification, or are otherwise prohibited or restricted under the Undesirable Medical Advertisements Ordinance ("UMAO") (Cap. 231).

Schedule 3 of the Food and Drugs (Composition and Labeling) Regulations (Cap. 132W) ("FDR") states that the list of ingredients must declare whether any of eight specified substances are present, which are known to cause allergy, namely cereals containing gluten; crustacea and crustacean products; eggs and egg products; fish and fish products; peanuts, soybeans and their products; milk and milk products (lactose included); tree nuts and nut products; and sulphite in concentrations of 10 parts per million or more.

In addition, a statement of special conditions for storage or instructions for use should also be provided.

The Director of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department ("FEHD") has the power to examine/seize any food which it considers unfit for human consumption (Section 59 of Part V of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132) ("PHMSO")), or make a food safety order prohibiting the import/supply of food, or directing that a recall shall be made (Section 30 of the Food Safety Ordinance (Cap. 612) ("FSO")). 

In most cases, food recalls are made on a voluntary basis by traders. The Centre for Food Safety has issued a Food Recall Guideline, which provides that traders should complete a "Voluntary Food Recall Notification Form" with the Director of FEHD when making a product recall, and also inform the public of the recall. Traders should periodically report on the progress of the recall, and the FEHD will assess the adequacy of the actions taken by the trader. After the recall is complete, traders shall submit a final report.

The main obligations applicable to food businesses in order to ensure the safety of their food products are as follows:

• Section 50 of Part V of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132) ("PHMSO") ? it is an offense for traders to:

o add any substance to food, use any substance as an ingredient in the preparation of food, abstract any constituent from food, or subject food to any other process or treatment, so as (in any such case) to render the food injurious to health, with the intention of the food to be sold for human consumption in that state

o Sell food for human consumption that is rendered injurious to health by any operation described above

• Section 54 of Part V of the PHMSO ? it is an offense for traders to sell food intended for, but unfit for, human consumption, or any drug intended for use by humans but unfit for that purpose

Hong Kong does not have a mandatory reporting regime for the reporting of illness or injury caused by the use or foreseeable misuse of foods.

The provisions of the Food Safety Ordinance (Cap. 612) ("FSO") are also relevant for ensuring food safety.

In Hong Kong, no single piece of legislation regulates advertising. Instead, there are various pieces of legislation related to advertising.

Under Part V of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132) ("PHMSO"), it is an offense to publish an advertisement that falsely describes food or is likely to mislead as to the nature, substance or quality of food. The Trade Descriptions Ordinance (Cap. 362) generally provides that descriptions/statements made with respect to a product being distributed and sold in Hong Kong must be true and not misleading and sets out particular offenses triggered by false trade descriptions or unacceptable trade practices.

There are also non-legally binding advertising standards that may apply, namely the Generic Code of Practice on Television Advertising Standards and the Radio Code of Practice on Advertising Standards. Both advertising standards contain rules that pertain to advertisements including claims relating to nutrition or dietary effects, as follows:

• claims of effects or treatment for conditions of health for which qualified medical attention or advice should reasonably be sought are not acceptable;
• specific claims for the nutritional value of food must be supported by sound scientific evidence and must not give a misleading impression of the nutritional or health benefits of the food as a whole;
• advertisements for dietary supplements, including vitamins or minerals, must not state or imply that they are necessary as additions to a balanced diet in order to avoid dietary deficiency or that they are the only means to enhance normal good health;
• no advertisements should encourage patterns of behavior which are prejudicial to health;
• advertisements making nutritional and dietary claims are required to comply with rules governing professional advice and support;
• the licensee must ensure that the advertisements which make claims relating to nutrition or dietary effects comply with all relevant legislation; and
• no advertisements for products, services and establishments which offer or provide treatment aimed at the achievement of weight loss or reduction of body fat are acceptable unless these advertisements state that their services/products are an adjunct to having a balanced/healthy diet to achieve such effect.

There are no specific laws, regulations or standards applicable to natural claims or fresh claims. The general requirements under the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (Cap. 362) and Part V of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132) apply.

Hong Kong does not have a specific piece of legislation for organic certification. However, there are two independent organic certification bodies in Hong Kong; the Hong Kong Organic Resource Centre and the Hong Kong Organic Certification Centre.