Country Reports - Far East

Polyu Develops a Food Hygiene Standard Certification System

December 2017

Country Reports - Far East

Polyu Develops a Food Hygiene Standard Certification System

December 2017

Hong Kong is renowned as the culinary capital of Asia, with local catering establishments of unique styles providing great varieties of Eastern and Western dishes cooked in different ways. However, for long, Hong Kong lacks a food hygiene standard that can cope with such characteristics and the operation mode of most small and medium-sized catering establishments. To address the issue, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has applied its expertise in food safety to develop the comprehensive Food Hygiene Standard Certification System (FHSCS). Being the first of its kind and tailor-made for local catering establishments, FHSCS enables caterers, especially the small and medium-sized, to acquire certification with minimum resources. It is expected to help enhance both food hygiene and safety standards by reducing foodborne risks and food poisoning, thereby protecting public health and enabling the diverse development of the catering industry. Officially launching the FHSCS, PolyU invites all stakeholders from the catering industry, food safety organizations, as well as testing and certification industry to join hands in implementing the system. Developed by PolyU's Food Safety and Technology Research Centre (FSTRC), FHSCS provides a certification scheme framework, including the Food Hygiene Standard FHS 001:2013 (the Standard), for the work of certification bodies. The Standard sets out the requirements of food hygiene systems for catering establishments. It encompasses all aspects pertaining to food hygiene, from purchasing, receiving and storage of food raw materials, processing food, serving food products to customers, ensuring environmental and personal hygiene, to maintaining documentation and record keeping.