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Firm sets up first GM
food-testing service
ALEX LO
Hong Kong's first commercial service to certify food
products are free of genetically modified ingredients has
been set up.
The move came as the Food and Environmental
Hygiene Department gave the strongest indication yet
that mandatory labelling could be put in place soon.
Dr Alfred Cheung Wai-kin of Intertek Testing Services
said food manufacturers and shops would need the
service because they would have to certify products
once a labelling system was enforced.
"Without mandatory labelling, it would only be a fringe
business," said Dr Cheung, who heads the company's
food and pharmaceutical division.
"But with a regulatory system in place, there would be a
significant need for companies to meet both regulatory
requirements and establish credibility with customers
who demand the right to know."
The new service is jointly run with US-based Genetic
ID, a leading certification company which has an
extensive database on most commercially or
experimentally modified organisms.
Certification involves tracking and documenting entire
product lines in the production chain from farms to retail
shelves, sample testing and inspection.
Depending on product types, a certification programme
is expected to cost about $150,000 a year.
An end product test would cost just over $2,000.
Last week, Deputy Director of Food and Environmental
Hygiene Leung Pak-yin said the Government would
finalise its policy on mandatory labelling by the end of
the year.
Dr Cheung said his company had budgeted $2.95
million for marketing and setting up equipment.
When the mainland's genetic food production got going,
more Hong Kong food companies with dealings across
the border would need the service.
The Productivity Council has said it will set up a similar
certification consulting service before the end of the
year.
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