Pre-Statutory Voluntary Registration Scheme
for Food Importers / Distributors

In response to a series of food incidents concerning imported food, the Government has announced a package of new measures to ensure the safety of imported food. One of these new initiatives is to require food importers in Hong Kong to register with the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) so that in the event of a food incident, the CFS can more readily identify the importer(s) concerned, trace the source of the problem food and take necessary action. In order to monitor the food supply chain in Hong Kong, it is necessary for CFS to identify not only the food importers but also the food distributors (i.e. those operate as intermediaries between the food importers and retailers). The scope of the mandatory registration requirement therefore needs to extend to cover not only food importers but also food distributors in Hong Kong.

The Government is planning to introduce a new legislation to make it a mandatory requirement for all businesses engaged in food importation and distribution to registration with the CFS of their identity, contact details and the main food types which they import / distribute so that CFS can build up a register of all food importers as well as distributors in Hong Kong.

Before the enactment of the new legislation, the Government will launch a pre-statutory voluntary registration scheme ( the Scheme ) to encourage importers / distributors of various food categories to notify the Centre of their business by phases as indicated in the table below.

Stage One

Stage Two

The objectives of this voluntary registration scheme are to:

Food importers and distributors are encouraged to notify the CFS of the details of their business, including name of the business, business registration number, address, name of the people-in-charge and his telephone and fax number. The information will facilitate CFS to enhance communication and consultation with the food industry (in the design of the future mandatory scheme and the drafting of the “Food Safety Bill”), notify them of any food concerns or alerts, and contact the businesses concerned more easily in the event of a food incident.

Through the registration system, the CFS will advise and encourage the food businesses to keep record of the movement of their food as a good business practice and to assist in enhancing food traceability. The CFS will, subject to the consent of the food business operators, upload to the CFS website the names of those companies under the Scheme for reference by the local food trade and overseas food suppliers.

Details of different phases of the Scheme can be found in the following links :

Voluntary Registration Scheme for Poultry Egg Importers / Distributors

Frozen / Chilled Game, Meat and Poultry Importers / Distributors Pre-Statutory Voluntary Registration

Live Food Animals and Live Poultry Importers / Distributors Pre-Statutory Voluntary Registration

Milk, Milk Beverage, Cream and Frozen Confection Importers / Distributors Pre-Statutory Voluntary Registration

Vegetables and Fruits Importers / Distributors Pre-Statutory Voluntary Registration

Fish and Fishery Products Importers / Distributors Pre-Statutory Voluntary Registration

Processed Game, Meat, Poultry Meat and Aquatic Products Importers / Distributors Pre-Statutory Voluntary Registration

Egg Products, Processed Vegetable and Fruit Products, Dairy Products, Legumes, Nuts and Seeds Importers / Distributors Pre-Statutory Voluntary Registration　

Cereals and Grains Products, Herbs and Spices, Fats and Oils, Salts, Condiments and Sauces Importers / Distributors Pre-Statutory Voluntary Registration　

Non-alcoholic Beverages, Alcoholic Beverages, Infant / Follow Up / Growing-up Formula and Baby Food Importers / Distributors Pre-Statutory Voluntary Registration

Sugars and Sweets, Snacks Importers / Distributors Pre-Statutory Voluntary Registration

Miscellaneous (Chinese herbs, health food / supplement, mixed dishes and food not covered in previous phases) Importers / Distributors Pre-Statutory Voluntary Registration "NEW"