Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Food and Environmental Hygiene Department
The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) is a department of the Hong Kong Government, reporting to the Environment and Ecology Bureau. It is responsible for food hygiene and environmental hygiene. It replaced part of the role of the Urban Council and the Urban Services Department, and the Regional Council and the Regional Services Department.
Establishment
Pursuant to the passing of the Provision of Municipal Services (Reorganisation) Bill in 1999, the Provisional Regional and Urban Councils were dissolved along with the establishment of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department. According to the bill, changes to the structure for the delivery of municipal services should be adopted, with a new department dedicated for the environment and food assuming responsibility for all functions relating to food safety and environmental hygiene.
The motivations behind FEHD's establishment were mostly because of an institutional “system failure and negligence” to address repeated incidents in food handling and food-borne infectious diseases. As Dr. Leong Che-hung, former Legislative Council member noted, Hong Kong was on the verge of a cholera outbreak caused by filthy and unhygienic states of food manufacturers earlier in 1997, which was exacerbated by the Provisional Regional and Urban Councils’ failure to oversee the actual operations after issuing licences, and the Department of Health's failure to step in in time. The incident exposed the institutional gap, which was clearly an operational gap of “lack of leadership in the overall improvement of food safety and environmental hygiene” and a policy gap of a “central body responsible for policy formulation of food safety and environmental hygiene.”. To address these deficiencies, the Legislative Council passed the bill on 2 December 1999.
Development
Major structural reforms
Proposed reorganization of the FEHD In 2005, the then Chief Executive Donald Tsang addressed in his Policy Address to reorganise government departments and establish a new Food Safety, Inspection and Quarantine Department. The proposed reorganization was motivated by the food safety incidents of Mainland food supplies to Hong Kong including poultry, livestock, marine products and other non-staple food on a daily basis. The new department proposed to consolidate functions that were performed by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department and the FEHD, including the monitoring and controlling of imported and local live food and non-food animals, poultry and birds, and the safety of vegetables, meat, seafood and food products.
However, the reorganisation was never implemented due to doubts and concerns by legislators as to the effectiveness of the new department in improving quality control of Mainland and foreign food supplies.
Hub AI
Food and Environmental Hygiene Department AI simulator
(@Food and Environmental Hygiene Department_simulator)
Food and Environmental Hygiene Department
The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) is a department of the Hong Kong Government, reporting to the Environment and Ecology Bureau. It is responsible for food hygiene and environmental hygiene. It replaced part of the role of the Urban Council and the Urban Services Department, and the Regional Council and the Regional Services Department.
Establishment
Pursuant to the passing of the Provision of Municipal Services (Reorganisation) Bill in 1999, the Provisional Regional and Urban Councils were dissolved along with the establishment of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department. According to the bill, changes to the structure for the delivery of municipal services should be adopted, with a new department dedicated for the environment and food assuming responsibility for all functions relating to food safety and environmental hygiene.
The motivations behind FEHD's establishment were mostly because of an institutional “system failure and negligence” to address repeated incidents in food handling and food-borne infectious diseases. As Dr. Leong Che-hung, former Legislative Council member noted, Hong Kong was on the verge of a cholera outbreak caused by filthy and unhygienic states of food manufacturers earlier in 1997, which was exacerbated by the Provisional Regional and Urban Councils’ failure to oversee the actual operations after issuing licences, and the Department of Health's failure to step in in time. The incident exposed the institutional gap, which was clearly an operational gap of “lack of leadership in the overall improvement of food safety and environmental hygiene” and a policy gap of a “central body responsible for policy formulation of food safety and environmental hygiene.”. To address these deficiencies, the Legislative Council passed the bill on 2 December 1999.
Development
Major structural reforms
Proposed reorganization of the FEHD In 2005, the then Chief Executive Donald Tsang addressed in his Policy Address to reorganise government departments and establish a new Food Safety, Inspection and Quarantine Department. The proposed reorganization was motivated by the food safety incidents of Mainland food supplies to Hong Kong including poultry, livestock, marine products and other non-staple food on a daily basis. The new department proposed to consolidate functions that were performed by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department and the FEHD, including the monitoring and controlling of imported and local live food and non-food animals, poultry and birds, and the safety of vegetables, meat, seafood and food products.
However, the reorganisation was never implemented due to doubts and concerns by legislators as to the effectiveness of the new department in improving quality control of Mainland and foreign food supplies.