Food and Drugs (Composition and Labelling) (Amendment) Regulation 2025 to work on April 1 next year
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A Government representative stated today (August 21) that the Food and Drugs (Composition and Labelling) (Amendment) Regulation 2025 (Amendment Regulation) was gone by the Legislative Council by unfavorable vetting on August 20 to enhance the policy of packaged konjac-containing jelly confectionery.
The Amendment Regulation will work on April 1, 2026, forbiding the sale of mini-cup konjac-containing jelly confectionery with a height or width not going beyond 45 millimetres in the market. In addition, other packaged konjac jelly items should be identified with choking alerting declarations on their product packaging to advise customers to work out care throughout usage.
While the Codex Alimentarius Commission thinks about konjac a safe food additive, the distinct item style and company texture of mini-cup konjac jellies can increase the threat of choking if taken in incorrectly, especially for kids and the senior. The Government has actually been promoting health education messages on the avoidance of food choking through numerous channels, consisting of suggestions versus straight drawing mini-cup konjac-containing jelly confectionery.
The brand-new regulative requirements are:
(i) Jelly confectionery that is packaged food which is crammed in a mini-cup-shaped container should not include konjac if the height or width of the container does not go beyond 45mm; and
(ii) The outer layer of product packaging for the sale of jelly confectionery that is packaged food which includes konjac needs to be plainly and legibly marked with the following words in both Chinese and English –
“Caution: Do not swallow whole. Elderly and children must consume under supervision.”
注意 ： 勿一口吞食 ， 長者及兒童須在監護下食用 。
The above words should be marked in an obvious position on the product packaging. They need to be highlighted and marked in dark colour on a light-coloured background or in light colour on a dark-coloured background; or marked in red text on a white or yellow background.
The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department has actually dealt with appropriate stakeholders to improve health education on choking avoidance, consisting of providing letters to schools, arranging workshops, and sharing details on social networks.
The CFS has actually established a set of standards on the brand-new regulative requirements for the trade and will hold a technical conference with the trade later on to facilitate their understanding of and compliance with the brand-new requirements.