FEHD strives to ensure food safety of school lunch boxes (with photos)

     To enhance the awareness of food safety and hygiene of licensed food factories supplying school lunch boxes and to prepare for the new school year, the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) and the Environmental Hygiene Branch of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) have launched a series of operations to inspect licensed food factories supplying school lunch boxes in various districts of Hong Kong with a view to ensuring food safety.

     A spokesman for the FEHD said today (July 31), "Starting from July 27 to end of August, the FEHD will inspect food factories supplying school lunch boxes to ensure that the licensing conditions in respect of food handling and processing are observed by the operators, and that hygienic standards stipulated in the laws are met. Food samples will be collected for testing. Meanwhile, health advice will also be given, and food safety pamphlets will be distributed to operators and staff of food factories to remind them of the proper way of handling school lunch boxes."

     The CFS will host an online trade meeting in early August to remind lunch box suppliers to adhere to good hygiene practices when preparing food and establish a food safety plan based on the "Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points" (HACCP) system to lower the risks of food contamination. Lunch box caterers can make use of the guideline "Developing a School Food Safety Plan Based on HACCP system (for School Lunch Box Caterers)" to learn more about how to enhance the safety of lunch box production.

     Furthermore, in order to ensure food safety on campus, the CFS arranged an online talk for primary schools on July 28, highlighting food safety hazards such as choking and food allergies that teaching staff and food handlers in schools should pay attention to. At the same time, schools are also reminded to order lunch boxes from suppliers with a valid Food Factory Licence issued by the FEHD, and that suppliers are endorsed to provide lunch boxes. Before signing contracts with suppliers, schools should visit the premises to ensure that food handlers observe food safety and hygiene practices.