A food wholesaler was convicted of supplying a kind of Chinese duck liver that was falsely claimed to be "Hungarian goose liver", in contravention of the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (TDO), and was fined $45,000 at the Shatin Magistrates' Courts today (November 13). A total of 328 packs of duck liver involved in the case were also confiscated.
During a territory-wide inspection conducted earlier, Hong Kong Customs purchased a food product claimed to be goose liver from a food retailer and sent the samples to the Government Laboratory for testing. The testing result revealed that the product was actually duck liver. After an investigation, Customs found the product was supplied by the subject food wholesaler.
Customs officers subsequently took enforcement action and seized a total of 328 packs of related products on the market, with a total value of about $42,300.
Customs reminds traders to comply with the requirements of the TDO and urges consumers to procure products at reputable shops.
Under the TDO, any person who supplies goods with a false trade description in the course of trade or business, or is in possession of any goods for sale with a false trade description, commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for five years.
Members of the public may report any suspected violations of the TDO to Customs' 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).
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