雙語社評齊齊聽

英語 (足本收聽)

普通話 (足本收聽)

【明報專訊】ONLINE FOOD SHOPPING has become increasingly common. Several months ago, a type of sandwiches produced in Taiwan entered the Hong Kong market by virtue of online shopping. But it led to a food poisoning outbreak afterwards, which afflicted more than eighty people. The incident well demonstrates the health hazard posed by online food shopping. Recently, the Consumer Council and the Ming Pao investigation team have carried out their own sting operations. These investigations have brought to light the supply chain problems of online food shopping, which have much to do with the grey areas of the existing law.

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網購食物食品愈趨普遍，月前台灣生產的一款三文治，透過網購進入香港市場，導致80多人食物中毒，說明網購食品的衛生安全有風險。消委會和《明報》偵查組分別以「放蛇」方式，暴露網購食物食品供應鏈的問題，與現行法例存在灰色地帶有關。

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The Consumer Council has recently conducted an investigation of 40-odd online shops that sell fresh foods. Only eleven of them state clearly how the food will be kept at a low temperature during delivery. Some frozen food sold by eight online shops had completely defrosted when it was delivered, so much so that a mixture of blood and water could be seen seeping out of some frozen meat. Some salmon sashimi was kept in containers that were not hermetically sealed, but could be opened easily. All this has exposed the problems concerning the hygiene of food purchased online.

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近期，消委會檢視40多家售賣鮮貨食品的網店，發現只有11家有列明運送食物的保溫安排，其中8家網店的急凍食品，部分送抵時已經解凍，甚至有急凍肉食滲出血水。另外也有三文魚刺身包裝盒未密封，盒蓋可輕易打開。這些都顯示網購食物存在衛生問題。

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The Ming Pao investigation team has also run stories about salmon sashimi purchased online. In one of the stories, an order was placed on WhatsApp, after which the food was delivered by a food company located in a Kwai Chung industrial building. The company had licences for the importation and distribution of aquatic products - but not for distributing and retailing sashimi. Staffers of that company later explained to our reporters that the sashimi they distributed came from a sashimi shop that had a licence for selling sashimi, though they stopped short of giving us more details. The other story is about a shop located in an industrial building in Kowloon Bay. It does not have a food business licence or a restricted food permit, meaning that it cannot sell sashimi as a retailer. The online shop accepted our order nevertheless, and delivered the food, which had been put into a bag of ice cubes, with a van not equipped with a refrigerator.

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《明報》偵查組也報道兩宗網購三文魚刺身個案。一宗是網店透過WhatsApp接單，外判給一家葵涌的工廠大廈食品公司發貨，這家公司雖有水產食物進口和分銷商牌照，但是不包括分銷和零售刺身；隨後這家公司的職員向記者表示，他們發貨的刺身，來自另一家擁有刺身牌照的刺身店，但未進一步披露詳情。另一宗個案，網店設於九龍灣一處工業中心的單位，並無食物業牌照及售賣受限制食物許可證，即是不可零售刺身，可是網店接受落單，刺身放在冰袋內由客貨車送抵，車內並無雪櫃冷藏。

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The existing Food Business Regulation mainly deals with the locations of food businesses. However, no matter whether it is an online shop with a physical address in an industrial building, or a shop that is actually the home of someone trying to start a business or get a taste of doing so, believing that the food they cook is "special", these online stores, which do not have a fixed address, simply pose a challenge to officers of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD). For it is difficult for these officers to conduct random checks on such "virtual" shops. Theoretically, FEHD officers can do what the Consumer Council and our investigation team have done - they can conduct sting operations to investigate these online shops as well. However, according to those in the sashimi business, the number of online sashimi shops has increased several times in recent years, which has led to intense competition. It is unrealistic to demand that the FEHD devote too many of its human resources to conduct random checks on these shops.

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現行《食物業規例》主要規管處所，網店開設在工廠大廈，甚或有人認為炮製的食物有特色，即使在家中也可開網店，嘗試創業或過一下老闆癮，因此這類「居無定所」的網店，難有實體目標讓食環署人員巡查。理論上，食環署人員可仿效消委會和本報偵查報道，以「放蛇」方式查察網店銷售情况，不過單以刺身網店為例，業界表示近年以倍數增加，競爭激烈，要食環署為此耗費大量人手巡查，並不切實際。

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Online shopping is an emerging industry. It offers people with a creative mind a chance to start their own businesses. True, there are no strict regulations concerning online shopping in the existing law. But it is not advisable to resort to legislation without good reason or make amendments to the law that might prevent the industry from thriving. We should look at the issue from two perspectives. First, businesses that operate illegally should not be condoned. Manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors and retailers of food should all obtain licences and abide by the pertaining rules and regulations, and online shops should not be an exception. In order to safeguard the health of consumers, it is necessary to ensure that the food they sell is hygienic and safe to eat. Then the government should allow enough space for online shopping and online shops to thrive. This will set free some new business modes and give fresh impetus to Hong Kong's business environment.

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網購是新興生意，給有創意人士創業的機會，即使現行法例對網店經營未能充分規管，也不適宜動輒立法或修例將之嚴嚴管死，應該一分為二。首先，非法經營不應容忍，處理、批發、分銷和零售刺身需要的牌照和許可的規定，網店也不能免，這是為確保食物衛生安全，保護消費者健康。除此之外，政府應該盡量容許網購和網店有足夠空間，使新興經營手法繼續自由飛翔，為營商環境注入新動力。

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明報社評2015.09.24

Presented by lecturers of Hong Kong Community College, PolyU and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Dr XUAN, Winfred Wenhui

Lecturer, HKCC

www.hkcc-polyu.edu.hk/staff_directory/social_communication/XUAN,_Winfred_Wenhui-365.html

Ms QIU, Tina Wei

Lecturer, HKCC

www.hkcc-polyu.edu.hk/staff_directory/social_communication/QIU,_Tina_Wei-367.html

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