The Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) and the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) recently have stepped up customs clearance inspection and sample taking for testing of related cargoes via sea, land and air as well as jointly inspected retail outlets to safeguard hairy crabs on sale in the market meet the standard and requirements as stipulated under related ordinances.
C&ED and FEHD officers have recently conducted a joint operation. In addition to enhance inspection of hairy crabs and combat illegal import of hairy crabs at airport and other boundary control points, inspection to monitor the sale of hairy crabs in the market, including checking the place of origin of hairy crabs and taking samples from various hairy crab retailers for testing (including dioxins and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), colouring matters and metallic contaminants), have also been stepped up.
C&ED and FEHD maintain close co-operation and intelligence exchange with each other and conduct timely joint operations to combat illegal import of food. Customs also attaches great importance to the protection of consumer rights and will take appropriate enforcement action once activities in violation of the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (TDO) are detected in the market. Up to the moment, no case of false claim on the place of origin of crabs has been found.
C&ED reminds members of the public that under the TDO, a person must not import any goods to which a false trade description is applied. In addition, it is an offence for a trader to apply a false trade description to goods or services supplied or offered to be supplied to a consumer; or to supply or offer to supply to a consumer goods or services to which a false trade description is applied. Violation of the TDO is a serious offence and offenders are liable to a maximum penalty of $500,000 and imprisonment for five years upon conviction. In addition, smuggling is a serious offence. Under the Import and Export Ordinance, any person found guilty of importing or exporting unmanifested cargo is liable to a maximum fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years.
FEHD said that according to the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap 132), all food available for sale in Hong Kong, locally produced or imported, should be fit for human consumption. An offender is subject to a maximum fine of $50,000 and imprisonment for six months upon conviction.
C&ED and FEHD said that they will continue closely monitor the sale of hairy crabs. If needed, they will continue to strengthen joint inspection. Traders are reminded not to import or put on sale hairy crabs of unknown origin. Consumers should procure hairy crabs at reputable shops. Members of the public may report to the Customs 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 if they suspected that hairy crabs with falsely claimed place of origin have been bought.
Ends/Saturday, October 14, 2017
