GS1 Hong Kong’s Food Safety Forum 2022 – Food Security, Transparency, Sustainability Spotlighted

HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach - 31 August 2022 - GS1 Hong Kong (GS1 HK) organised the annual Food Safety Forum 2022 with the theme "Food Safety and Consumer Trust: Navigating the Road Ahead" today, where food manufacturers, services providers, brands, importers / exporters, logistics providers and retailers were gathered to discuss food safety and supply issues brought by the persisting pandemic, and look into ways to foster consumer trust and sustainable industry development.

Mr. Tse Chin-wan, Secretary for Environment and Ecology of the HKSAR Government, delivered a recorded opening message as the Guest of Honour to kick-start the event. Mr. Anthony Li, Deputy Secretary for Environment and Ecology (Food) of the HKSAR Government, Hon. Tommy Cheung, Legislative Council Member (Catering) and Hon. Peter Shiu, Legislative Councilor (Wholesale and Retail) were also on-site as Award Presenters to support the occasion.
In his opening message, Mr. Tse highlighted the Government efforts in ensuring food safety and referenced the Centre for Food Safety taking over 66,000 food samples at the import, wholesale and retail levels for testing, with the overall satisfactory rate of 99.9% in 2021. The Centre has also been making use of social media, to proactively gauge the pulse of the public on various safety issues, and deliver targeted messages on social media platforms, to raise food safety awareness and dispel doubts and concerns on timely manner.

"Food safety is an issue that entails tripartite collaboration of the Government, the trade and the public. We would continue working closely with all stakeholders in making Hong Kong a healthy city where consumers can enjoy food that is safe for human consumption," He added.

Ms. May Chung, Chairperson of GS1 HK's Food and Beverage Industry Advisory Board, and General Manager of Nestlé Hong Kong, cited a report from Europe[1] that only one-third of the consumers surveyed believe that manufacturers are honest about their role in the food system – pointing to a lack of transparency in food production being at the root of this lack of trust, "If we in the food industry are to improve sustainability of the industry, consumers will need to trust how food is produced, manufactured, distributed, sold and governed, with confidence that information about these processes is both accessible and transparent, which also lead us to today's theme. I'm thrilled to see how the industry has come together rallied by GS1 HK to dwell on this important subject."

At the Pioneers Panel Discussion, Prof. Terence Lau, Interim Chief Innovation Officer of Hong Kong Baptist University, Mr. Keith Wu, Vice Chairman & CEO of Fulum Group, Mr. Jeff Law, Managing Director of Sun Fat Heung Food Products and Mr. Chris Chan, General Manager (Global Supply Chain Management Division) of Yamato Logistics (HK), exchanged their insights and experience on how to harness data analytics to augment and improve their food safety and drive supply chain integrity. They agree that a proper traceability system with data captured and kept transparent, covering areas like food production, processing, warehousing, logistics and retail, must be in place in order to secure consumer trust and elevate competitiveness.

Co-located with the Forum, the award presentation ceremony of "Quality Food Scheme+" and "Quality Food Scheme" were organised to recognise the achievement of 22 food-related companies that demonstrated outstanding performance in food safety management, control and traceability. Please refer to appendix or visit https://www.gs1hk.org/quality-food-scheme for the winner list of both Schemes.

Ms. Anna Lin, Chief Executive of GS1 HK appreciated the speakers' insight and congratulated the recognised companies. Being one of the representatives at APEC Policy Partnership on Food Security (PPFS), she was delighted that The APEC Ministerial Meeting on Food Security had accepted her submission on strengthening the food supply chain resilience and safety by wider adoption of Global Data Standards, which has been included in the APEC Food Security Roadmap towards 2030. Read the Roadmap here：https://www.apec.org/meeting-papers/sectoral-ministerial-meetings/food-security/2021_food_security/annex.

On the consumer trust issue towards food companies, Anna believes some simple digital technologies can help enhance food traceability, transparency and consumer trust, "GS1 HK's '1QR' is an excellent example: with just 1 QR code, businesses can offer consumers extensive information, such as nutrition information, certification and so on. When combined with GS1 HK's track-and-trace and authentication capabilities, merchants can uplift product credibility and safety which helps promote local food quality. By harnessing the power of technology and our partners' strength, GS1 HK remains committed to reducing food safety risk and accelerating industry growth."

Appendix

Recognised Companies of "Quality Food Scheme+" (in alphabetical order):

Diamond Enterprise

• A.S. Watson Group - Watsons Water
• Café de Coral Holdings Ltd.
• DKSH Hong Kong Ltd.
• FrieslandCampina (HK) Ltd.
• Hop Hing Oils & Fats (HK) Ltd.
• Maxim's Caterers Ltd.
• Nestlé Hong Kong Ltd.
• Sims Trading Co. Ltd.
• Sun Fat Heung Food Products Ltd.
• Swire Coca-Cola HK
• Tong Shun Hing Poultry (HK) Co. Ltd.
• Tsit Wing International Holdings Ltd.
• Vitasoy International Holdings Ltd.
• Wyeth (HK) Holding Co. Ltd.

Gold Enterprise

• DCH Food Mart
• Hi-Speed Supply Chain Ltd.
• International Gourmet Foods Ltd.
• Tai Luen Coffee Co. Ltd.

Recognised Companies of "Quality Food Scheme" (in alphabetical order):

Gold Enterprise

• AEON Stores (HK) Co. Ltd.
• DCH Logistics Co. Ltd.
• Aquaculture Technologies Asia Ltd.
  

• Sun Yik Food Ltd.

Hashtag: #GS1HongKong

About GS1 Hong Kong

Founded by the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce in 1989, GS1 Hong Kong (GS1 HK) is the local chapter of GS1®, which supports companies' digitalisation to enhance supply chain transparency and efficiency, ensure product authenticity, and facilitate online and offline commerce with global supply chain standards (product identification key and barcode) and a full spectrum of standard-based platforms, solutions and services.

Currently, GS1 HK has around 8,000 corporate members covering close to 20 industries including retail consumer goods, food and food services, healthcare, apparel, logistics as well as information and technology. By engaging with communities of trading partners, industry organisations, government, and technology providers, GS1 HK is fostering a collaborative ecosystem with the vision of "Smarter Business, Better Life".

Headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, GS1® is a not-for-profit, standards organisation that has 115 national chapters serving 150 economies globally. For more information, please visit www.gs1hk.org.