SEE's opening remarks on food safety and environmental hygiene at LegCo Finance Committee special meeting
Following is the English translation of the opening remarks by the Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, on food safety and environmental hygiene at the special meeting of the Legislative Council (LegCo) Finance Committee today (April 15):
The Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, Photo source: reference image
Thank you Chairman and Honourable Members.
The Environment and Ecology Bureau (EEB) is committed to ensuring food safety and environmental hygiene, and promoting the sustainable development of the local agriculture and fisheries industries and the development of Hong Kong's food industry.
Environmental hygiene
To improve environmental hygiene, we completed the second-stage legislative amendment in 2025 to strengthen deterrence and enhance enforcement efficiency. The new provisions have been implemented smoothly since they came into effect in August last year.
Regarding rodent prevention and control, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) has utilised cameras with artificial intelligence technology for tracking rodent activities, enabling more targeted measures to address rodent infestation in high-risk locations with notable results. Among the 49 locations with active rodent activities identified in the first half of 2025, over 80 per cent have shown improvement. In addition, the FEHD launched the Anti-rodent Charter to collaborate with parties such as property management companies to enhance residents' awareness of maintaining environmental hygiene. As at February 2026, the Charter covered about 720 000 households across participating residential premises. We have also continued to implement the Cross-sectoral Territory-wide Anti-rodent Action to co-ordinate efforts among different sectors towards a rodent-free environment.
The FEHD also actively handles public health nuisances, including water seepage in buildings and dripping air conditioners. Water seepage in buildings is generally caused by defective building fabric or installations. The Joint Office for Investigation of Water Seepage Complaints, jointly set up by the Buildings Department and the FEHD, plans to introduce new procedures for investigating water seepage in buildings in the first half of this year to expedite the identification of the sources of seepage by utilising technologies and enhancing procedures, thereby urging owners to carry out timely repairs. Meanwhile, the Government is stepping up efforts in promoting the resolution of water seepage disputes through co-ordination and mediation.
Regulation of food business
On food business licences, we stand ready to facilitate the trade provided that hygiene and food safety are not compromised. For instance, the FEHD and responsible departments have streamlined procedures and put in place a new "joint-vetting" mechanism for processing outside seating accommodation applications of restaurants, which takes effect this month (April 1). It is expected that simple and straightforward cases can obtain approval-in-principle, together with the specific licence requirements, in about a month. In addition, the legislative amendments to allow dogs to enter restaurants have been submitted to the LegCo for scrutiny, and permission for the first-phase applications is expected to be granted by mid-2026. This new initiative is expected to promote harmony between people and pets, while creating new business opportunities for the catering industry.
We remain committed to safeguarding food safety in tandem with regime enhancement. The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) will continue to implement the Food Surveillance Programme, adopting a risk-based principle in the collection and testing of food samples collected and handling of food incidents.
Other facilities and services
The FEHD launched the Market Modernisation Programme a few years ago to take forward renovation and enhancement projects in several markets one after another. With the positive response to stall enhancement in the Queen Street Cooked Food Market earlier ago, the FEHD has commenced similar projects at three other cooked food centres, namely the Ap Lei Chau Market Cooked Food Centre, the Luen Wo Hui Market Cooked Food Centre and the Yue Wan Market Cooked Food Centre, which are expected to be completed gradually within this year. The FEHD will continue to identify other suitable enhancement projects.
As regards burial matters, the current supply of public niches is adequate. The FEHD will enhance the public niche allocation mechanism to fulfil the public's wish to complete after-death arrangements for the deceased as early as possible. Public niches at three columbaria, namely Shek Mun, Wo Hop Shek and Cape Collinson-San Ha Columbarium, that are currently allocated on a yearly basis will, from this August, start to be allocated on a monthly basis. The monthly allocation arrangement will be similar to the one adopted for Tsang Tsui Columbarium, providing greater flexibility in the timing for application. We will later seek funding approval from the Finance Committee of the LegCo for the construction of a new crematorium at Wo Hop Shek Cemetery, to ensure that there are sufficient cremation sessions to meet the demand.
Development of agriculture and fisheries industries
The Government attaches great importance to the local agriculture and fisheries industries. We actively promote the modernisation, intensification of production, quality and effective transformation and sustainable development of the agriculture and fisheries products in accordance with the Blueprint for the Sustainable Development of Agriculture and Fisheries, with a view to aligning with the goal of enhancing the overall production capacity as well as the quality and efficiency of agriculture and fisheries in the 15th FiveYear Plan, thereby enabling Hong Kong to better integrate into and serve the overall national development.
On the fisheries front, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) issued the first batch of marine fish culture licences for operation in the new fish culture zones at Wong Chuk Kok Hoi and Mirs Bay in 2025 and has provided deep-sea cages for rental by the industry. We expect that local mariculture production will be increased to 1 200 tonnes by 2027, and we strive to further increase it to about 6 000 tonnes by 2037. Moreover, research and development of fish fry and development of processing facilities for local fisheries products will continue to be supported by the Sustainable Fisheries Development Fund, so that the public can enjoy a stable and quality supply of local fisheries products.
On the agriculture front, the site formation works for the first environmentally-friendly, multi-storey pig farm in Lo Wu are expected to be completed within this year as scheduled. The AFCD is assessing the applications for operation of the pig farm. Furthermore, we are actively promoting urban farming and leisure fisheries. As at February 2026, a total of 165 eligible fisheries/farms participated in the "Agri enJoy" Scheme and the "Fish enJoy" Scheme.
To further enhance the competitiveness of local agricultural and fisheries products, the AFCD is preparing to launch a new unified brand for them in the middle of this year. This will be supported by certification, testing and traceability mechanisms, providing the public with safe, high-quality and fresh food while increasing the income of practitioners.
Development of the food industry
Hong Kong's food ndustry can leverage its reputation for quality to further expand into the Mainland and international markets. We will continue to discuss with the Mainland authorities to seek market access and simplified customs arrangements of the Mainland for a wider range of food products manufactured in Hong Kong. To lower the industry's compliance costs and encourage exports, the CFS has waived the fees related to the certification of food products for two years starting from April 1. The EEB will step up efforts to promote "Food from Hong Kong" as a brand and Hong Kong's role as a food hub. We will also engage and collaborate with the trade and Mainland provinces and municipalities to establish Hong Kong as an important gateway for Mainland food products to go global, with a view to aligning with the direction of promoting domestic and international dual economic flows in the National 15th Five-Year Plan.
Chairman, my colleagues and I are happy to answer questions from Members.
The Environment and Ecology Bureau, Photo by Bastille Post
