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Following is a question by the Hon Frederick Fung and a written reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, in the Legislative Council today (June 8):
Question:
Early this year, the British Government announced that two years later, it would introduce a sugar levy payable by drinks manufacturers, with a view to reducing sugar content in various kinds of drinks so as to mitigate the problem of childhood obesity. There will be two tiers of the proposed sugar levy according to sugar content: drinks with sugar content above 5g/100ml are subject to a levy of six pence (around HK$0.70) and those with more than 8g/100ml are subject to a levy of eight pence (around HK$0.90). The British Government will use the revenue from the sugar levy, estimated to be about £520 million a year, to fund sports activities organised by schools. In addition, the United States Government announced earlier that it would reform the nutrition labelling scheme for prepackaged food, including requiring that information on the amount of "added sugars" and its percentage in the maximum daily intake recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) be added on food labels in order to enhance national awareness of sugar content in food. Moreover, WHO published a report on the problem of childhood obesity early this year, calling on governments of various countries to restrict marketing practices that promote unhealthy food and to impose additional tax on sugar-sweetened drinks in order to mitigate the problem of childhood obesity. However, the Committee on Reduction of Salt and Sugar in Food (the Committee) in Hong Kong, which has been established for more than a year, still adopts an approach of voluntary participation and self-discipline of the industry and suggests that a voluntary labelling scheme be introduced for prepackaged food to provide simple salt and sugar information on such food. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the specific work achievements of the Committee so far; the details of the strategies and methods to be adopted by the Committee for reducing salt and sugar content in food; whether it has assessed if the salt and sugar content in food can really be reduced and excessive intake of salt and sugar by members of the public can be prevented solely by adopting the approach of voluntary participation and self-discipline of the industry; if it has, of the outcome;
(2) whether the authorities will, by making reference to the aforesaid measures and recommendations of other jurisdictions and WHO, adopt more effective means, including legislation and taxation, to regulate the salt and sugar content in food and drinks, with a view to preventing unhealthy food and drinks from entering the market; if they will not, of the reasons for that; and
(3) whether the authorities will introduce new measures and methods to promote healthy eating, such as (i) prohibiting television stations from broadcasting advertisements of unhealthy food and drinks during children's programme hours and "family viewing time", (ii) prohibiting marketing activities related to food and drinks that are hazardous to children's health, (iii) encouraging and exploring the development of low-sugar-and-salt food product formulation targeting restaurants/fast food shops and various aspects of food production, (iv) installing more drinking fountains in public places, including parks and playgrounds within public housing estates which I had repeatedly suggested to the Government, and (v) imposing restrictions on the sale of unhealthy food and drinks in vending machines in public places; if they will not, of the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
It has always been the Government's policy to encourage and promote healthy eating. A key component of that policy is to encourage and facilitate the public to reduce the intake of salt and sugar in food on an ongoing basis. The Government's target is to gradually reduce the intake of salt and sugar by Hong Kong people to the levels recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). My consolidated reply to the questions raised by the Hon Frederick Fung is set out below:
The Department of Health (DH), under the Food and Health Bureau (FHB), has been promoting healthy eating through a life-course approach and a setting-specific approach. Concrete measures include:
(a) Regarding healthy eating of children, the DH and the Education Bureau (EDB) have been running the EatSmart@school.hk (ESS) Campaign jointly since the 2006/07 school year to raise public awareness of and attention about healthy eating of children, and to create an environment conducive to healthy eating in schools.
(b) On top of the ESS Campaign, the DH and the EDB have been implementing the EatSmart School Accreditation Scheme since the 2009/10 school year to improve and strengthen the nutritional environment in schools. To attain accreditation status under the Scheme, the schools concerned need to formulate healthy eating policies and strictly comply with the DH﷿s Nutritional Guidelines on Lunch for Students and Nutritional Guidelines on Snacks for Students in the aspect of nutritional requirements, including that no lunch or snacks high in fat, salt or sugar should be provided for students. According to the Nutritional Guidelines on Snacks for Students, school personnel and tuck shop operators are responsible to parents and students for not allowing activities that promote Snacks to Choose in Moderation (i.e. snacks higher in fat, salt or sugar despite their nutritional values) and Snacks to Choose Less (i.e. snacks high in fat, salt or sugar) in the school environment.
(c) The DH launched the "StartSmart@school.hk" Campaign in 2012 to promote healthy eating and regular physical activities among pre-primary institutions. The "Nutrition Guidelines for Children Aged 2 to 6", which is published under the Campaign, advises that pre-primary institutions should formulate and implement healthy eating policies with specific measures to prohibit any forms of promotional or sponsorship activities related to unhealthy food in the schools.
(d) At the community level, the DH launched the EatSmart@restaurant.hk (ESR) Campaign in 2008, recommending restaurants to provide "3 Less" dishes (i.e. less oil, salt and sugar) by means of healthy ingredients and cooking methods. More than 200 EatSmart recipes have currently been uploaded to the thematic website of the ESR Campaign and CookSmart: EatSmart Recipes mobile application for public reference as well as sharing among EatSmart Restaurants.
(e) The DH launched the "I'm So Smart" Community Health Promotion Programme in 2012 to engage community partners, including the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HKHA), the Estate Management Advisory Committees under the HKHA, the Healthy Cities Projects and non-governmental organisations, to promote healthy eating and physical activities in the community.
(f) The DH has been producing and updating materials on health education, including guidelines, pamphlets, posters, newsletters, television and radio Announcements in the Public Interest, pre-recorded telephone hotline messages, thematic websites and mobile applications to support related health promotional activities and emphasise the importance of reducing salt and sugar in food.
To encourage and facilitate the public to reduce the intake of salt and sugar in food on an ongoing basis, the Government set up the Committee on Reduction of Salt and Sugar in Food (CRSS), and re-appointed five public health experts from the Mainland and overseas as members of the International Advisory Panel on Reduction of Salt and Sugar in Food (IAP), in March 2015, to give advice to it on salt and sugar reduction measures from local and overseas perspectives respectively. The two committees mentioned above have held a series of meetings and focused discussions, and have listened to the views of relevant stakeholders, including food manufacturers and the catering industry, with a view to advising the Government on further possible measures for salt and sugar reduction appropriate to Hong Kong's context while building on the existing measures and activities.
The CRSS is inclined to adopt a non-legislative or non-mandatory approach in pursuing salt/sugar reduction in food. Also, it suggests a step by step approach, starting from aspects which are more achievable first before tackling the more difficult ones. The CRSS considers that, through the industry's participation on a voluntary basis to progressively lower the content of salt and sugar in food, the public will gradually adapt to the changes in flavour and be receptive to a relatively healthier diet. This will also allow time for the trade to make adjustment accordingly, and reduce the impact of the measures on actual operation. As such, the salt and sugar reduction measures should be implemented in an incremental manner. Sustained efforts in enhancing education and incentivising the trade are necessary in order to effectively encourage and mobilise the public to reduce the intake of salt and sugar in food. We expect to roll out the measures progressively with the CRSS in 2016.
The Government will continue to make reference to the recommendations of the two committees mentioned above and the WHO, as well as the relevant measures and experience relating to reduction of salt and sugar in food in various other places (including the effectiveness of the measures, the response from the trade, consumers' receptiveness, etc), and will give full and thorough consideration to the local situation in order to explore and contextualise concrete measures suitable for Hong Kong. It will also continue to work closely with the CRSS and different stakeholders with a view to promoting public health in Hong Kong.
Ends/Wednesday, June 8, 2016
Issued at HKT 16:50
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