HONG KONG, CHINA - Media OutReach - 23 August2019 - GS1 Hong Kong (GS1 HK) hosted the Food Safety Forum 2019 with the theme"Technology, Innovation, and Food Safety" today, attracting more than 300 foodindustry stakeholders to exchange ideas on how to capitalise on innovation andtechnology to improve traceability and enhance food safety. Ms. Lau Lee Kwan, Vivian, JP, Director of Food & EnvironmentalHygiene was invited asthe Guest of Honour, whereas Ms. Erica Ng, JP, Deputy Secretary for Food andHealth (Food)2 and Hon Peter Shiu Ka-fai, Legislative Councilor andDeputy Chairman of Panel on Food Safety and Environmental Hygiene alsojoined as Award Presenters. Representative from the Centre of Food Safety (CFS)disclosed a Food Trader Portal will be launched late this year to strengthenimport control and facilitate food trade, which GS1 HK will provide support. TheAward Presentation Ceremony for Quality Food Traceability Scheme 2019 wasalso held, where 20 companies were recognized for demonstrating excellence infood safety and traceability practices.

(From left to right) Ms. Erica Ng, Deputy Secretary for Food and Health (Food)2, Ms. Anna Lin, Chief Executive of GS1 Hong Kong, Ms. Vivian Lau, Director of Food & Environmental Hygiene, Hon. Peter Shiu, Legislative Councilor and Deputy Chairman of Panel on Food Safety and Environmental Hygiene and Ms. May Chung, HK Food & Beverage Industry Advisory Board of GS1 HK and General Manager of Nestlé Hong Kong Limited, attended today's Food Safety Forum 2019 as the honourable guests. 

95% of the total food supply in HongKong is imported from all over the world. The growing complexity of the globalfood supply chain has only been adding up to the risk for food safety in HongKong. Technology thus plays a key role in promoting food safety. Ms. Vivian Lausaid in her opening speech, "The Food and Environmental Hygiene and the Centrefor Food Safety are committed to embracing technology and innovation to improvepublic service delivery, and we are in close partnership with everybody in thefood industry to enhance food safety. CFS is now working full steam ahead todevelop and revamp its information technology systems to achieve better efficiencyand seek improvements in a wide range of functions, including food importcontrol, surveillance, food incident management and traceability."

Centre of Food Safety Revealed the Launch of Food Trader Portal Soon

Mr. Tse Lai Chi, Manager of the Centrefor Food Safety, gave details about its soon-to-be-launched "Food TraderPortal" at the Forum. The Portal can manage matters ranging from the handlingof applications on food import to issuing instructions on food inspection andsample collection arrangements electronically.

Beneficial to both regulatory authorityand food traders, the Portal allows traders to submit applications and checkstatus anytime, anywhere, without the need to interface with every singlegovernment department, helping to reduce time and operational cost. The Portal'scomplete and comprehensive database helps the authority to track-and-trace anyfood supply sources more quickly and accurately, reinforcing its riskmanagement operation and realising better damage control. The Portal is part ofthe HKSAR Government's Trade Single Window system, which will be theGovernment-wide one-stop online kiosk for trade declaration and customsclearance.

GS1 HK will cooperate with CFS andincorporate our platforms to the Portal, providing higher efficiency for CFS's operationsand facilitating the trade for deployment.

Enterprises Commit to Upholding Food Supply Chain Transparency

The 5^th edition of QualityFood Traceability Scheme marked the achievement of 20 food-related companies,among which 7 of them participated for 5 consecutive years. They allcontributed to uplifting the local food safety level, promoting product qualitystandard, enhancing food value chain and operation visibility. It also indicatesthe increasing importance of food traceability from the perspectives of theindustry and customers. (SeeAppendix I for full winner list)

The Scheme is designed to help localfood and food services companies to enhance their track and trace capabilitiesalong the supply chain, and effectively adopt international standards for theirfood management systems thereby boosting consumer's confidence. Diamond, Goldand Silver Enterprise Awards are presented to the recognised companies based onthe audit results.

Speaking of the Scheme, Ms. Anna Lin, GS1 HK's Chief Executive,commented, "Congratulations to all the Scheme winners, especially to those who won"5 Consecutive Years' Award", they have demonstrated long-term efforts andcommitment in upholding food traceability, elevating the food safety level forthe city. I hope every member in the industry would beef up their traceabilitymeasures, not only to fulfill regulatory requirements, but also help react toincidents efficiently and boost consumer trust on the brands."

Ms. May Chung, Chairperson of Hong Kong Food & Beverage IndustryAdvisory Board of GS1 HK and General Manager of Nestlé HK Ltd., echoed herpoint of view and added, "I believe food safety is a shared responsibility, so itis important to all of the stakeholders in the community to foster closerpartnerships towards reduced food safety risks, leveraging innovation andtechnology. Our Board is looking forward to bringing more F&B stakeholderstogether to uplift the food supply chain and safety standards, making adifference to the city."

Appendix I --

Quality Food Traceability Scheme 2019 Winner List (in alphabetical order)

About GS1 Hong Kong

Foundedby the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce in 1989, GS1 Hong Kong is thelocal chapter of GS1^®, a not-for-profit, standards organisation thatdevelops and drives adoption of global standards for business to uniquelyidentify, accurately capture and automatically share vital information aboutproducts, locations and assets. Headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, GS1 hasover 110 national chapters in 150 countries.

GS1Hong Kong's mission is to empower business to grow and to improve efficiency,safety, authenticity and sustainability across multiple sectors and facilitatescommerce connectivity through the provision of a full spectrum of platforms,solutions and services based on our global standards. We provide a trustedfoundation for accurate, sharable, searchable and linkable data. Our EPCstandard lays the foundation for IoT, powering a range of IoT-based servicesand applications. We are helping industry to meet the challenges ofomni-channel commerce and create a seamlesscustomer experience. By engaging with communities of trading partners, industryorganisations, government, and technology providers, we are fostering acollaborative ecosystem and aiming for "Smarter Business, Better Life".

Currently,GS1 Hong Kong has around 8,000 corporate members covering close to 20industries including retail consumer goods, food and food services, healthcare,apparel, logistics as well as information and technology.

For more information, please visit www.gs1hk.org.