Hong Kong Customs and the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) have been carrying out joint enforcement operations since last Friday (September 15) to inspect hairy crab retail outlets in various districts, with the aim of protecting consumer rights and upholding food safety by ensuring hairy crabs on sale in the market comply with relevant stipulations and requirements under the laws.
During the inspections, Customs officers and officers of the Centre for Food Safety and the Environmental Hygiene Branch of the FEHD monitored the sale of hairy crabs and also checked supportive documents for the place of origin and health certificates of the hairy crabs to ensure that the hairy crabs sold at retail shops are fit for human consumption and are in compliance with the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (TDO), the Food Safety Ordinance and the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance.
Up till present, officers of the two departments have inspected 45 hairy crab retail shops and no irregularity has been found so far. The relevant joint enforcement operations will continue.
Apart from carrying out inspections in the market, Customs officers also made use of the big-data analytics system to conduct analysis and verify whether online shops selling hairy crabs had complied with the TDO with a view to safeguarding the interests of consumers while making online purchases.
Customs and the FEHD remind traders not to import or put on sale hairy crabs of an unknown origin. Consumers should make purchases at reputable shops with the Shell Fish (Hairy Crab) Permit or relevant written permission granted by the FEHD.
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