GS1 HK's Food Safety Forum 2024 Underlined Effective Adoption of Digital Technology to Uphold Food Safety and Sustainability

HONG KONG, Aug. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The 10^th edition of GS1 Hong Kong Food Safety Forum concluded successfully today, drawing more than 200 attendees from the food and catering industry to join in-person. Ms. Diane Wong, Under Secretary for Environment and Ecology of the HKSAR Government, kick-started the event as the Guest of Honour. Mr. Anthony Li, Deputy Secretary for Environment and Ecology (Food) of the HKSAR Government, Hon. Peter Shiu, Legislative Councilor (Wholesale and Retail) were also on-site as Award Presenters to give out recognitions to 31 outstanding "Quality Food Scheme" companies, including the new "Quality Food Scheme ESG" launched this year.

Environmental Protection Department recorded that some 3,300 tonnes of food waste, about 30% of municipal solid waste, are disposed at landfills each day, which is not sustainable and is environmentally undesirable as it depletes the limited landfill space^[1]. Themed "Rethinking our Future: Where Food Safety and Sustainability Meet", this year's GS1 HK Food Safety Forum focus on the challenges of the local food supply chain, and the sustainable development of the food sector ecosystem.

The guest of honour of the event, Ms. Diane Wong, said in the opening remarks, "Advanced technology plays an important role in food safety and sustainability. It can help preserve the environment and improve traceability throughout the food supply chain. Advanced technology can also help reduce food loss and waste by improving storage, handling, and distribution practices. We hope that the food manufacturing industry can continue to explore how the effective adoption of international standards and technologies can help address challenges in food traceability and safety, and also promote sustainable development for the food safety regime. The Government will continue to review the existing policies and measures to ensure that food safety and hygiene standards are met and consumers in Hong Kong can have access to safe and high quality food products."

Building a Safe and Sustainable Food Ecosystem with Technology

Mr. Keith Wu, Chairman of GS1 HK's Food and Beverage Industry Advisory Board, highlighted the importance of the sustainability of local food ecosystem in his welcome remarks, "Consumers behavior has shifted significantly, with sustainability becoming a priority in purchasing decisions. Regulations over ESG & sustainability are also becoming increasingly common worldwide, making sustainability no longer a choice, but a business imperative, just like food safety. "Traceability" & "transparency" are always the essential pillars to achieve food safety & sustainability goals. Food industry stakeholders have a shared responsibility to continuously strive towards these goals."

He cited GS1 HK's "1QR", a QR code with GS1 Digital Link standard, as a good way to promote food safety and sustainability. Retailers can scan the "1QR" at check-out counter and shows the 'Best Before' or 'Sell By' dates – allowing expired foods to be rejected at checkout, and those close to expiry to be sold at a bargain – to reduce food waste.

On the other hand, consumers can simply scan the "1QR" with a smart phone to access information like nutritional values, industry certifications, allergy advice, etc., and also the sustainability details such as sources of materials, carbon footprint, recycling method, helping to uplift consumers' confidence and attachment.

Senior executives from Data Literacy Association, FrieslandCampina (Hong Kong) Ltd., Kerry Logistics (HK) Limited, Maxim's Caterers Ltd., Swire Coca-Cola HK, Tai Po Chun Hing Ltd., Uni-China Group and Wong & Associates Global Ltd. shared their insights at the Forum, exploring how the effective adoption of international standards and digital technologies can assist the industry in ensuring food safety and promote a sustainable future.

The New "Quality Food Scheme ESG"

The new "Quality Food Scheme ESG" has awarded 17 enterprises with recognition, which are assessed mainly in accordance with GS1 Global Traceability Standard (GTS), MSCI ESG Indexes^[2] and United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs)^[3] etc. The scheme aims to encourage businesses to not only put efforts in food traceability and safety, but also act on ESG practices.

Quality Food Scheme has been evolving since 2015 that also covers "Quality Food Scheme" and "Quality Food Scheme Plus". The 2 schemes have recognised 21 companies this year. Please refer to appendix for the awardee list, and visit https://www.gs1hk.org/quality-food-scheme for details of Schemes.

Ms. Anna Lin, Chief Executive of GS1 HK, noted, "I'm very pleased to see the encouraging responses for our inaugural "Quality Food Scheme ESG" from the industry, which shows their commitment to sustainable development. We will continue to work with all the parties, by means of consultation, training and award schemes, to elevate food safety standard and more sustainable practices.

Photos download: https://gs1hongkong.box.com/s/xuadt1xh6n4hviwyqwst20atz7j4ikfw

Appendix

Recognised Companies of "Quality Food Scheme Plus" 2024 (in alphabetical order):

Diamond Enterprise

• Café de Coral Holdings Ltd.
• DKSH Hong Kong Ltd.
• FrieslandCampina (HK) Ltd.
• Hop Hing Oils & Fats (HK) Ltd.
• Integrated Market Services Asia Ltd.
• International Gourmet Foods Ltd.
• Kerry Logistics (HK) Ltd.
• Maxim's Caterers Ltd.
• Sims Trading Co. Ltd.
• Swire Coca-Cola HK
• Tai Hing Worldwide Development Ltd.
• Tai Luen Coffee Co., Ltd.
• Tong Shun Hing Poultry (HK) Co. Ltd.
• Tsit Wing Coffee Co., Ltd.
• Vitasoy International Holdings Ltd.
• Watsons Water

Gold Enterprise

• Hei Yan Tong

Recognised Companies of "Quality Food Scheme" 2024 (in alphabetical order):

Gold Enterprise

• AEON Stores (HK) Co. Ltd.
• Aquaculture Technologies Asia Ltd.
• DCH Logistics Hong Kong Co. Ltd.

Silver Enterprise

• Sun Yik Food Ltd.

Recognised Companies of "Quality Food Scheme ESG" 2024 (in alphabetical order):

Innovation

• CATALO Natural Health Science Limited
• Kerry Logistics (HK) Ltd.
• Tong Shun Hing Poultry (HK) Co. Ltd.

Technology

• DKSH Hong Kong Ltd.
• Loscam (Hong Kong) Ltd.
• Meiriki Japan Company Ltd.
• Nestlé Hong Kong Ltd.
• Sun Fat Heung Food Products Ltd. (Top Soya)

Achievement

• Hop Hing Oils & Fats (HK) Ltd.
• International Gourmet Foods Ltd.
• King Bakery Holdings Limited
• Sa Sa Cosmetic Co. Ltd.
• Tai Hing Worldwide Development Ltd.
• Tai Luen Coffee Co. Ltd.
• Tai Po Chun Hing Ltd.
• The Garden Company Limited
• Wah Yuen Foods (H.K.) Co. Ltd.

About GS1 Hong Kong

Founded by the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce in 1989, GS1 Hong Kong is the local chapter of GS1®. GS1 Hong Kong's mission is to empower businesses of their digital transformation, improve supply chain visibility and efficiency, ensure product authenticity, facilitate commerce connectivity and enable sustainable value chain through the provision of global supply chain standards (including GTIN & barcodes), and a full spectrum of platforms, solutions and services.

GS1 Hong Kong currently supports close to 8,000 corporate members from 20 sectors including retail & consumer packaged goods, food & beverage and food services, healthcare, apparel & footwear, logistics & ICT. By working closely with communities of trading partners, industry organizations, government, and technology providers, we can foster a collaborative ecosystem, paving the way for "Smarter Business, Better Life".

Headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, GS1® is a not-for-profit, standards organisation that has 118 national chapters serving 150 economies globally. For more information, please visit www.gs1hk.org.