FEHD Intensifies Food Safety Inspections for School Lunch Boxes to Tie in with the New School Year

FEHD steps up inspections of school lunch box suppliers to ensure food safety on campus

To enhance food safety and hygiene awareness among schools and licensed food factories supplying school lunch boxes, and to tie in with the new school year, the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) and the Environmental Hygiene Branch of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) have stepped up inspections of licensed food factories supplying school lunch boxes in various districts of Hong Kong and collected food samples for testing.

A spokesman for the FEHD said today (September 28), "Since July, the FEHD has inspected 46 licensed food factories supplying school lunch boxes, and reminded operators of the proper way of handling school lunch boxes. As at late September, the CFS has collected 92 lunch box samples from those licensed food factories for microbiological examinations. All samples tested satisfactory."

Regarding education and publicity, to safeguard food safety on campuses, the CFS has arranged a series of online and physical seminars for schools and lunch box suppliers between July and late September, highlighting food safety hazards such as choking and food allergies, and emphasising the need for vigilance among teaching staff and food handlers in schools, as well as reminding lunch box suppliers to adhere to good hygiene practices when preparing food. At the same time, schools are also reminded to order lunch boxes from suppliers that hold a valid Food Factory Licence issued by the FEHD and are endorsed to provide lunch boxes. Lunch box suppliers are also reminded to establish a food safety plan based on the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) system to lower the risks of food contamination.

The CFS has published "A Practical Guide for Ensuring Food Safety in Schools and Childcare Facilities" to which schools and childcare facilities can refer when choosing lunch box suppliers and ensuring food safety on campus. 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. For further details, please visit the"Safe Food at School" thematic webpage.

The Centre for Food Safety of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department has arranged a series of online and physical seminars for schools and lunch box suppliers between July and late September, highlighting food safety hazards such as choking and food allergies, and emphasising the need for vigilance among teaching staff and food handlers in schools, as well as reminding lunch box suppliers to adhere to good hygiene practices when preparing food. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

To enhance food safety and hygiene awareness among schools and licensed food factories supplying school lunch boxes, and to tie in with the new school year, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department has inspected 46 licensed food factories supplying school lunch boxes since July, and has reminded operators of the proper way of handling school lunch boxes. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Hong Kong and Guangdong sign work arrangements to take forward cross-boundary individual yacht travel

The Marine Department (MD) today (September 28) signed the "Work Arrangement for Facilitating the Entry and Exit of Guangdong-registered Yachts into Hong Kong Waters" and the "Work Arrangement for Entry and Exit of Hong Kong Yachts into Guangdong" with the Guangdong Maritime Safety Administration (GDMSA), taking forward the implementation of cross-boundary individual yacht travel between the two places.

A spokesman for the Transport and Logistics Bureau said, "Apart from being the sector that the Government is committed to developing, the yacht economy is also one of the key development projects highlighted in the recently published First Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (2026-2030) and the 2026 Policy Address. With strong support from the Central Government and close co-operation between Hong Kong and Guangdong, the MD and the GDMSA have been actively discussing and advancing the implementation of the relevant arrangements through the tripartite Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao individual yacht travel working group. The work arrangements signed today establish a mechanism that serves as a foundation, and hence mark a significant milestone for cross-boundary individual yacht travel between Hong Kong and Guangdong.

"Following the launch of northbound travel of yachts from Hong Kong in June this year, which allows Hong Kong yacht owners travelling to the nine Chinese Mainland cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) to handle cross-border procedures more affordably and conveniently, we will soon launch the southbound travel of yachts from Guangdong, enabling yacht owners in Guangdong Province to enjoy the same level of convenience. This policy will help add impetus to cross-boundary leisure consumption and further promote two-way exchanges and visits between Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland. We are pressing ahead with the final preparatory work, and will announce shortly the implementation details of southbound travel for yachts from Guangdong."

The MD will continue to maintain close communication with the relevant authorities in Guangdong Province to actively promote the facilitation measures for the northbound travel of yachts from Hong Kong and the southbound travel for yachts from Guangdong, with a view to fostering a healthy, sustainable and competitive environment for the development of both local and GBA yacht economies, and at the same time enhancing connectivity and promoting Hong Kong's proactive integration into GBA development.

Hong Kong and Guangdong sign work arrangements to take forward cross-boundary individual yacht travel Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases