The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) has updated the Guidelines on the Harmful Substances in Food (Amendment) Regulation 2021 (the Guidelines) issued in 2021, in accordance with the latest information from the European Union (EU) on estimating industrially produced trans fatty acids (IP-TFAs) in food.
The Harmful Substances in Food (Amendment) Regulation 2021 (the Amendment Regulation) was passed by the Legislative Council on 14 July 2021 to enhance the regulation of harmful substances including IP-TFAs in food. The Amendment Regulation specifies partially hydrogenated oils (PHO), the main source of IP-TFAs, as a prohibited substance in food. The relevant provisions will come into operation on 1 December 2023. The Government also issues the Guidelines which aims to assist the trade in having a better understanding of and complying with the relevant requirements under the Amendment Regulation and the Food and Drugs (Composition and Labelling) (Amendment) Regulati on 2021. As stated in the Guidelines, the CFS will adopt the EU approach to identify the presence of PHO by estimation of IP-TFAs level in food.
In view of the latest update on the method for estimating IP-TFAs adopted in EU, the CFS has updated the related content (see paragraph 3.7 footnote 3 on page 10 and FAQ 17 on page 17) in the Guidelines accordingly. The updated Guidelines has been uploaded to the CFS website. The trade is advised to make reference to the EU approach stated in the Guidelines to allow sufficient time to get prepared for the new requirements under the Amendment Regulation. Please browse the Amendment Regulation designated website for more details: https://www.cfs.gov.hk/english/whatsnew/whatsnew_fstr/whatsnew_fstr_Food_Regulations_Harmful_Substances.html