Hong Kong Customs special operation combats sale of counterfeit mooncakes and festive goods before Mid-Autumn Festival
Hong Kong Customs conducted a special operation from Aug. 28 to Sept. 9 to crack down on counterfeit mooncakes and related festive items being sold in the market.
During this period, authorities confiscated 26 boxes of counterfeit mooncakes and over 560 counterfeit items, including lanterns and tableware, valued at approximately HK$28,000. Five individuals were arrested in connection with these seizures. Details of the operation were discussed in a press conference held by the customs today (Sept. 12).
Customs officials noted that the counterfeit mooncakes involved several brands. One of the brands impersonated was "LV" (Louis Vuitton), a luxury French brand known primarily for its leather goods and fashion items.
LV has neither designed nor produced any of the counterfeit mooncakes and tableware sets involved in this case. The counterfeit products bearing the LV brand were being sold online for about HK$600 to HK$800.
Another brand targeted in the counterfeiting operation was "Maxim," known for its custard mooncakes. The counterfeit products copied the packaging design and registered trademarks of the genuine items.
The genuine packaging has the word "Magical" printed on the front, while the counterfeit packages mistakenly display "Magieal." The texture on the sides of the genuine boxes is finely detailed, whereas the counterfeit boxes display uneven printing and blurred embossed patterns, making them significantly distinguishable from the original.
Regarding the expiry dates, genuine Maxim mooncakes specify only two possible consumption dates: before Sept. 27, 2024, or before Oct. 17, 2024. In contrast, the counterfeit products have various other dates listed.
When opening the packaging, the genuine product packaging states "lava custard mooncakes" in both traditional and simplified Chinese characters, whereas the counterfeit items feature only simplified characters.
The genuine " Maxim lava custard mooncakes " include an anti-counterfeiting label on the side of the box. When this label is peeled back, it reveals a color-coded security code and a QR code, which can be scanned using an official mobile app to verify the product's authenticity and link to a designated website. The scanning also reveals the date and time when the QR code was first checked.
The counterfeit mooncakes also have a similar label, but the QR code cannot be verified through the official app, and some counterfeits even lack the anti-counterfeiting label altogether. The retail price of the genuine mooncakes is HK$284, while the counterfeits are sold for about HK$220, approximately 70% of the original price.
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