HONG KONG, CHINA - Media OutReach - 9 September2020 - GS1 Hong Kong launches a brand new "QualityFood Scheme+" programmeto encourage food & beverage enterprises to adopt more stringent measures inaccordance with internationally accredited standards in terms of management,control and traceability, for example identifying critical control points alongthe food supply chain, which helps to enhance food safety and instil trust inconsumers.

(From left to right) Patrick Tong, General Manager ofTong Shun Hing Poultry (HK) Co. Ltd.; May Chung, Chairperson of Hong Kong Foodand Beverage Industry Advisory Board of GS1 HK, and General Manager of NestléHong Kong Ltd.; Anna Lin, Chief Executive of GS1 HK; Ben Tsang, ManagingDirector of SGS Hong Kong; Heidi Ho, Principal Consultant of GS1 HK.

TripleConfidence Using a Trio of International Standards

The Centre for Food Safety has issued more than 75 food alerts and results of samplewith irregularity since the start of this year. The foods not in compliancecover seafood, vegetables, sauce, etc., from Australia, China, England, France,Thailand, New Zealand and others.They were either stopped sale, removed from shelves or recalled by the traders.While food safety incidents happen regularly,citizens have been extra cautious as the COVID-19persists.

Tohelp enterprises cope with the new normal in the midst of epidemic, GS1 HKlaunches "Quality Food Scheme+" (thenew Scheme) with SGS HK as the audit partner. Under the new Scheme,participating enterprises are assessed based on more comprehensiveinternationally accredited food safety standards, including GS1 Global Traceability Standard (GTS),ISO 22000 - Food Safety ManagementSystem Standard, as well as HACCP --Food Safety Control Standard.

Inresponse to the latest infection, the new Scheme report will provide companieswith disease prevention advice, including industry best practices and how foodsafety management and system is uplifted through proper technology adoption.For example, enterprise may be advised to use appropriate sensing and analysistechnologies for real time monitoring of the food processing operation so as tostrengthen the risk management control and enhance food safety.

"SGS Hong Kong isdelighted to collaborate with GS1 Hong Kong to be the audit partner of the new'Quality Food Scheme+'. We help foodenterprises to engineer food sourcecontrol, food operations andmanagement in accordance with internationally accredited standards; identify and analyse the potential food safety hazardsand risk, from raw materials to products, from manufacturing tohandling process;establish control points and formulate monitoring system. It helps enterprises to reduce and control risk, ensure product quality and foodsafety, protect consumers' health, build and safeguard food organisation's marketintegrity, and ultimately enhance competitiveness." said Ben Tsang, Managing Director of SGS HongKong.

EnhanceBrand Image and Win Consumer Trust

Whilethe existing "Quality Food Scheme" adopts GTS (Global Traceability Standard) asthe main criteria for assessment of food across the supply chain, which isparticularly useful for product recall management; the new Scheme takesreference to additional global standards including ISO 22000 and HACCP on topof GTS, and provides participating enterprise with an all-rounded review to enhanceits current system and practices.

Independentthird parties, GS1 Hong Kong and SGS Hong Kong, will perform the audit for theparticipating enterprises, which help them to build brand image, reputation andwinconsumer trust. The enterprises will also receive a full report with recommendationsfor improvement, helping to develop a roadmap for better food safety managementwith its system and hence pursuing excellence. Please visit https://www.gs1hk.org/quality-food-scheme forthe details of the "Quality Food Scheme" and the "Quality Food Scheme+" for 2021.

MayChung, Chairperson of Hong Kong Food and Beverage Industry Advisory Board ofGS1 HK, and General Manager of Nestlé Hong Kong Ltd., is glad to see the launchof the new Scheme. "The food and food services industry is facing manychallenges, primarily the public trust in food safety. The launch of the new Schemeis a perfect opportunity for the industry to be appraised by 3 internationalstandards, improve food traceability as well as enhance food safety managementand control throughout the supply chain. When consumers see the new Schemelogo, they feel safer to buy and consume."

GS1HK has organised "Quality Food Scheme" for 5 years, and over 20 enterprises arerecognised every year to commend their outstanding performance in foodtraceability, supporting food safety in Hong Kong. Please refer to Appendix 1for the recognised company list this year.

Being recognised in "Quality Food Scheme" for 3consecutive years, Tong Shun Hing Poultry (HK) Co. Ltd. also supports thelaunch of the new Scheme. Patrick Tong, General Manager of the company said,"As a major importer of chilled poultry in Hong Kong and Macau with 10 siu meirestaurants, food safety has always been our focus. The Scheme not onlyrecognised our efforts, but also inspired us to set higher goals, such as enhancinginformation transparency. We have decided to step up to join the new Scheme, toallow more extensive review on our food safety management and pre-monitoring system,which I believe will elevate our standard in that regard."

Anna Lin, Chief Executive of GS1 HK, noted, "It isa pleasure to see such tenacity in the food industry to uphold food safety inHong Kong. In a difficult time like this, joining 'Quality Food Scheme+' not only helps companies comply to regulations,but also rebuilds consumer trust and motivates repeat purchase once thesituation gets better. Apart from the 2 Schemes, we also offer food safety andtraceability training, consultation and track-and-trace solutions. We strive tocollaborate with the industry to raise the bar for food safety in Hong Kong, soconsumers will come back with a peace of mind." 

Appendix 1 －

Recognised Companies of Quality Food Traceability Scheme 2020 (in alphabetical order)

Diamond Enterprise  
Café de Coral Holdings Ltd.

FrieslandCampina (Hong Kong) Limited

Hop Hing Oils & Fats (Hong Kong) Ltd.

Maxim's Caterers Ltd.

Nestlé Hong Kong Ltd.

Sims Trading Co. Ltd.

Swire Coca-Cola HK Ltd.

Tong Shun Hing Poultry (HK) Co. Ltd.

Tsit Wing International Holdings Ltd.

Vitasoy International Holdings Ltd.

Wyeth Nutrition Hong Kong

Gold Enterprise

AEON Stores (Hong Kong) Co. Ltd.

DCH Food Mart

DCH Logistics Co. Ltd.

International Gourmet Foods Ltd.

Lorence & Company Ltd.

Sun Fat Heung Food Products Ltd.

Tai Luen Coffee Company Ltd.

Silver Enterprise 

Aquaculture Technologies Asia Ltd.

Starjet Trading Limited

About GS1 Hong Kong

Founded by the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce in 1989, GS1 HongKong is the local chapter of GS1®, a not-for-profit, standards organisationthat develops and drives adoption of easy-to-implement global standards forbusiness to uniquely identify, accurately capture and automatically share vitalinformation about products, locations and assets. Headquartered in Brussels,Belgium, GS1 has over 110 national chapters in 150 countries.

GS1 Hong Kong's mission is to empower business to grow and to improveefficiency, safety, authenticity and sustainability across multiple sectors andfacilitates commerce connectivity through the provision of a full spectrum ofplatforms, solutions and services based on our global standards. We provide atrusted foundation for accurate, sharable, searchable and linkable data. OurEPC standard lays the foundation for IoT, powering a range of IoT-basedservices and applications. We are helping industry to meet the challenges ofomni-channel commerce and create a seamless customer experience. By engagingwith communities of trading partners, industry organisations, government, andtechnology providers, we are fostering a collaborative ecosystem and aiming for"Smarter Business, Better Life".

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

For more information about GS1 Hong Kong, please visit www.gs1hk.org.