Hong Kong may ‘toughen labelling rules for Japanese food’ over waste water disposal

But if the waste water discharge plan went ahead, the Environment and Ecology Bureau would weigh whether to require tougher labelling rules for Japanese food as a precaution, Tse said.

Currently, all pre-packaged food in Hong Kong must come with the name and address of its manufacturer and packer under the city’s Food and Drugs (Composition and Labelling) Regulations.

At the Legco meeting, legislators raised concerns over how long a potential ban on seafood products from prefectures around the power plant would last, given Japan was expected to dispose of the waste water over a 30-year time frame.

But Tse refused to commit to a firm timeline for any ban or elaborate on how many prefectures could be affected by the move, stressing Hong Kong would wait to see whether Japan went ahead with the disposal scheme.

“We will see if Japan has made improvements in food safety monitoring to decide how long the ban will last,” he said. “It’s about both radiation levels and the measures taken.”

Lawmaker Elizabeth Quat Pei-fan called for an immediate ban on seafood imports from Fukushima, while legislators Joephy Chan Wing-yan and Bill Tang Ka-piu urged the government to consider barring all food imports from Japan.

Legislator Gary Chan Hak-kan called on the government to provide as much information as possible to consumers on the origin of food imported from Japan.

“This is to let residents know where the Japanese goods they were purchasing came from, whether it was from Fukushima or neighbouring prefectures or other regions. This is to further reassure residents on top of checks,” he said.

Lawmaker Simon Lee Hoey said Hongkongers deserved to know more about the origin of potentially contaminated food products.

“Perhaps we should label all Japanese seafood imports, as safety control isn’t enough and we should ensure residents’ right to know where their food comes from and remind them of possible radiation risk,” he said.

In a commentary published last week in a local newspaper, Tse accused Japan of being irresponsible and potentially “endangering the marine environment and public health” if it went ahead with the plan.

A day later, the Japanese consulate in Hong Kong denied the minister’s accusation and said the waste water had been treated using the Advanced Liquid Processing System, a purification system to reduce radionuclides.

Experts on Tuesday said the risk of Hong Kong residents eating contaminated food products was low as containment efforts by local and Japanese authorities had proved effective.

Despite the low risk, precautions were “appropriate” from a public health perspective, Hong Kong Nuclear Society chairman Luk Bing-lam told a radio programme.

“Without the data now, there is nothing wrong with a responsible government taking precautionary measures,” he said, referring to data on the number of radioactive substances in the waste water set to be discharged.

“But I believe that the possibility of contaminated food arriving in Hong Kong is low.”

Discussing a visit to Fukushima in March, Luk said Japanese authorities had done a great job decontaminating the prefecture. He added that radiation levels in the area, except at the power plants, were lower than those recorded in Hong Kong.

Luk said Japan’s waste water processing system could filter out 62 types of radioactive substances, but only seven were being monitored, urging authorities there to keep tabs on the remaining ones to be safe.

Luk added that he believed agricultural products from the prefecture were safe for consumption.

Dr Christine Wong Wang, commissioner of Hong Kong’s Centre for Food Safety, told legislators that all food samples from Fukushima tested by the government since March 2011 had been found safe.

Hong Kong was Japan’s second-largest market for agricultural and fisheries exports in 2022, bringing in about HK$12.3 billion (US$1.6 billion) worth of goods, according to the country’s government.

Figures from the Census and Statistics Department showed that Japanese imports accounted for about 2 per cent of the city’s total food supply, with 6.75 per cent of all seafood consumed locally coming from the country.