Hong Kong Regulations

FOOD AND DRUGS (COMPOSITION AND LABELLING) REGULATIONS - SCHEDULE 3

MARKING AND LABELLING OF PREPACKAGED FOODS

(Past version on 12/19/2003).
(Past version on 06/30/1997).

(a) that a food is powdered or is in any other physical condition; or
(b) that a food has been dried, freeze-dried, frozen, concentrated or smoked, or has been subjected to any other treatment, the name of the food shall include or be accompanied by such an indication.

(a) in the case of a food which consists entirely of such a mixture, the heading of the list of ingredients includes or is accompanied by the words "in variable proportion" or other words indicating the nature of the order in which the ingredients are listed; or
(b) in the case of a food which contains such a mixture, that part of the list where the names of those ingredients appear is accompanied by the words "in variable proportion" (可變比例) or other words indicating the nature of the order in which those ingredients are listed. (L.N. 80 of 1996)

(a) the presence of a particular ingredient, the labelling of the food shall not place special emphasis on the presence of that ingredient, unless the labelling includes a declaration of either the minimum percentage by weight of that ingredient in the food or the actual amount of that ingredient in the food, determined as at the time of its use in the preparation of the food;
(b) the low content of a particular ingredient, the labelling of the food shall not place special emphasis on the low content of that ingredient, unless the labelling includes a declaration of either the maximum percentage by weight of that ingredient in the food or the actual amount of that ingredient in the food, determined as at the time of its use in the preparation of the food. (L.N. 80 of 1996)
(4C) (a) Any declaration required by sub-paragraph (4B) shall appear either-
(i) next to the name of the food; or
(ii) in the list of ingredients in close proximity to the name of the ingredient in question.
(b) The actual amount of an ingredient in a food referred to in sub-paragraph (4B) shall be indicated by reference to the numerical count of the contents or to the net weight or net volume of that ingredient and such indication shall conform with paragraph 7(2). (L.N. 80 of 1996)

(a) a reference in the name of a food to a particular ingredient shall not of itself constitute the placing of special emphasis on the presence or low content of that ingredient;
(b) a reference in the labelling of a food to an ingredient which is used in a small quantity and only as a flavouring shall not of itself constitute the placing of special emphasis on the presence or low content of that ingredient. (L.N. 80 of 1996)
(4E) (a) If a food consists of or contains any of the following substances-
(i) cereals containing gluten (namely wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt, their hybridized strains and their products);
(ii) crustacea and crustacean products;
(iii) eggs and egg products;
(iv) fish and fish products;
(v) peanuts, soyabeans and their products;
(vi) milk and milk products (including lactose);
(vii) tree nuts and nut products,
the name of the substance shall be specified in the list of ingredients.
(b) If a food consists of or contains sulphite in a concentration of 10 parts per million or more, the functional class of the sulphite and its name shall be specified in the list of ingredients. (L.N. 85 of 2004)

(a) its specific name; or
(b) its identification number under the International Numbering System for Food Additives; or
(c) its identification number under the International Numbering System for Food Additives with the prefix "E" or "e". (L.N. 85 of 2004)

(a) flavour and flavouring (調味料及調味劑);
(b) modified starch (改性澱粉),

(a) except where sub-sub-paragraph (b) applies, a "best before" (此日期前最佳) date; and
(b) in the case of a prepackaged food which, from the microbiological point of view, is highly perishable and is therefore likely after a short period to constitute an immediate danger to human health, a "use by" (此日期前食用) date.

(a) the words "best before" in English lettering and "此日期前最佳" in Chinese characters followed by the date up to and including which the food can reasonably be expected to retain its specific properties if properly stored; and
(b) a statement of any storage conditions which need to be observed if the food is to retain its specific properties until that date.

(a) the words "use by" in English lettering and "此日期前食用" in Chinese characters followed by the date up to and including which the food, if properly stored, is recommended for use; and
(b) a statement of any storage conditions which need to be observed if the food is to retain its quality attributes until that date.

(a) in the case of a food which can reasonably be expected to retain its specific properties for not more than 3 months, the date may be expressed in terms of a day and a month;
(b) in the case of a food which can reasonably be expected to retain its specific properties for more than 3 but not more than 18 months, the date may be expressed in terms of a month and a year if the date is preceded by the word "end" in English lettering and is followed immediately by the word "底" in Chinese character; or
(c) in the case of a food which can reasonably be expected to retain its specific properties for more than 18 months, the date may be expressed either in terms of a month and a year or in terms of a year, if the date is preceded by the word "end" in English lettering and is followed immediately by the word "底" in Chinese character. (L.N. 85 of 2004)

(a) the day shall be indicated by the words "DD", "dd", "D" or "d" in English lettering and "日" in Chinese character;
(b) the month shall be indicated by the words "MM", "mm", "M" or "m" in English lettering and "月" in Chinese character; and
(c) the year shall be indicated by the words "YY", "yy", "Y" or "y" in English lettering and "年" in Chinese character,

storage or instructions for use

(a) it is marked or labelled with-
(i) an indication of its country of origin;
(ii) the name of the distributor or brand owner in Hong Kong; and
(iii) the address of the registered or principal office of the distributor or brand owner in Hong Kong; and
(b) the full address of the manufacturer or packer of the food in its country of origin has been notified in writing to the Authority by the distributor or brand owner in Hong Kong.

(a) (i) it is marked or labelled with an indication of its country of origin and with a code marking identifying the manufacturer or packer in that country; and
(ii) particulars of the code marking and of the manufacturer or packer to whom it relates have been notified in writing to the Authority by the manufacturer or packer or by the distributor or brand owner in Hong Kong; or
(b) the factory or other place where the food was manufactured or packed is owned, run or managed by the government of its country of origin and the food is marked or labelled in such a manner as to indicate that it is a product of that government.