If you would like to open eateries or sell restricted foods in Hong Kong, you are required to obtain licences from the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD). Relevant Licences are only issued to food premises if they conform to the prescribed safety and hygiene standards laid down by law. Tannet can help our clients who want to invest and open eateries in Hong Kong, to deal with related licences/permits applications. Licences/Permits issued by DFEH (Food and Environment Hygiene Department of HKSAR) are as follows:
Restaurant Licence
A restaurant licence must be obtained from the DFEH for the food business which involves the sale of meals or unbottled non-alcoholic drinks other than Chinese herb tea, for consumption on the premises, but does not include a factory canteen or any business carried on by a hawker who is the holder of a licence under the Hawker Regulation (Cap.132AI). In this connection, a general restaurant licence permits the licensee to sell any kind of food for consumption on the premises while a light refreshment restaurant licence restricts the licensee to prepare and sell for consumption on the premises any one group of the food items listed in Appendix B of A Guide to Application for Restaurant Licence (Guide). For the operation of restaurant business on board a vessel, a marine restaurant licence is required.
Bakery Licence
A bakery licence must be obtained from DFEH for the food business which involves the baking of bread and other bakery products for sale at any premises in the territory before commencement of such business. If the baking of bread and other bakery products is carried out in a licensed general restaurant and if such bakery products are for consumption of the customers on the premises, no separate bakery licence is required. In the case of a light refreshment restaurant, a separate bakery licence is required if the bakery products are prepared for consumption of the customers on the premises. For the retail sale of bread and other bakery products prepared in a licensed restaurant (both general and light refreshment) in a separate counter / portion of the premises, a separate bakery licence is required.
Cold Store Licence
A cold store licence must be obtained from DFEH for the food business which involves the storage of articles of food under refrigeration in any warehouse in the territory before commencement of such business.
Factory Canteen Licence
A factory canteen licence must be obtained from DFEH for the food business in a factory building which involves the sale or supply of meals or unbottled non-alcoholic drinks other than Chinese herb tea for consumption on the premises by persons employed in any factory in that factory building, but does not include a restaurant or any business carried on by a hawker who is the holder of a licence under the Hawker Regulation (Cap. 132AI).
Food Factory Licence
A food factory licence must be obtained from DFEH for the food business which involves the preparation of food for sale for human consumption off the premises, but does not include a frozen confection factory, a milk factory or any business carried on by a hawker who is the holder of a licence under the Hawker Regulation (Cap. 132AI). There are numerous food preparation and manufacturing trades in Hong Kong which need to be covered by a food factory licence. The more common ones are listed below for reference:
(1) preparing food or drinks canned, bottled or packaged in other materials.
(2) preparing soy, pickles or sauces (including gourmet powder and sodium glutamate).
(3) preserving food, including dried and preserved meat, smoked ham, sausages, lo mei and leung gwo (preserved fruits).
(4) operating a take-away food shop or providing catering service, etc.
(5) roasting meat or poultry.
(6) making confections.
(7) making bean curd, bean curd whey (soya bean juice), dehydrated bean curd whey, fermented bean curd and fermented taro curd (nam yue), etc.
(8) making noodles, rice noodles, vermicelli, macaroni, spaghetti and bean threads, etc.
(9) manufacturing light refreshments (such as peanuts, shrimp slices, crisps) and puddings.
(10) manufacturing gluten and products from gluten such as vegetarian lo mei.
(11) processing food, such as manufacturing fish balls, shrimp balls, meat balls and frying pig skin, etc.
(12) manufacturing distilled water/bottling water.
However, a milk factory licence is required for any business in pasteurizing, manufacturing and packaging of reconstituted milk drinks; a frozen confection factory licence is required for the manufacture of ice cream, soft ice cream and popsicles, etc.; and a bakery licence is required for any business in baking of bread and other bakery products.
Temporary Food Factory Licence
A temporary food factory licence must be obtained from DFEH for the food business which involves the operation of a stall/kiosk of temporary nature for heating up and sale of pre-cooked food for consumption off the premises in conjunction with a public function (e.g. exhibitions, shows, sports competitions, concerts, etc.) of short duration before commencement of such business. The validity period of a temporary food factory licence will not exceed 7 days. Please note that the licensee of a temporary food factory is allowed to sell only pre-cooked food supplied by licensed food factories or other lawful sources and no cooking other than warming of food by electricity shall be permitted on the premises.
Fresh Provision Shop Licence
A fresh provision shop licence must be obtained from DFEH for the food business which involves the sale of fresh, chilled or frozen beef, mutton, pork, reptiles (including live reptiles), fish (including live fish) or poultry (including live poultry), but does not include a restaurant, factory canteen, market stall or any business carried on by a hawker who is the holder of a licence under the Hawker Regulation.
Frozen Confection Factory Licence
A frozen confection factory licence must be obtained from DFEH for the food business which involves, within the meaning of the Frozen Confections Regulation, the manufacture of any frozen confection in the territory before commencement of such business. The manufacture of soft ice cream from pre-prepared mixture in a dispensing machine for direct retail also requires a frozen confection factory licence. However, if the manufacture of frozen confections is carried out in a restaurant licensed under the Food Business Regulation for customers' consumption on the premises, no separate frozen confection factory licence is required.
Milk Factory Licence
A milk factory licence must be obtained from DFEH for the food business which involves, within the meaning of the Milk Regulation, the processing or reconstitution of milk or any milk beverage in the territory before commencement of such business. However, if milk is processed or reconstituted milk or milk beverages are prepared in a restaurant licensed under the Food Business Regulations (Cap. 132X) for customers' consumption on the premises, no separate milk factory licence is required.
Siu Mei and Lo Mei Shop Licence
A siu mei and lo mei shop licence must be obtained from DFEH for the food business which involves the sale by retail of siu mei or lo mei, but does not include a restaurant, factory canteen or any business carried on by a hawker who is the holder of a licence under the Hawker Regulation (Cap. 132AI). For restaurant licensees selling siu mei and lo mei at their premises, only permission from FEHD in the form of endorsement onto their licences for the sale of these food items is required.
Siu mei and lo mei shops are only allowed for the retail sale of siu mei and lo mei supplied by licensed food factories or other lawful sources. If applicants intend to prepare siu mei and lo mei by themselves at their premises, they need to apply separately for a food factory licence. When applications for fresh provision shop (fresh meat or frozen/fresh meat) and siu mei and lo mei shop licences are made simultaneously for premises with sufficient space for both businesses to be carried on separately (e.g. corner house), the proposed siu mei and lo mei shop must be separated from the rest of the premises by brick walls to the full height with separate entrance from the street.
Composite Food Shop Licence
A composite food shop licence covers the sale and preparation for sale of various specified types of simple or ready-to-eat foods that do not involve complicated preparation. Under Food Business Regulation (Cap 132X )(FBR), any person who intends to conduct food business which involves the sale and preparation for sale of all or any of the foods or classes of food specified in Part 1 of Schedule 2A to the FBR, the sale of all or any of the foods or classes of food specified in Part 2 of that Schedule, the reheating of pre-cooked food for sale and the sale of food by a vending machine for human consumption off the premises in Hong Kong, shall obtain a Composite Food Shop Licence issued by DFEH before commencement of such business.
The applicant of a Composite Food Shop Licence may choose to sell and / or prepare for sale of all or any combination of the following specified foods in the licensed premises and only electricity is allowed to be used as fuel:
(I) Foods or Classes of Food that may be Prepared for Sale and Sold at Composite Food Shop: Coffee, Tea, Salad, Sandwich, Waffle, Sashimi, Sushi, Oyster to be eaten in raw state, Soft ice cream, Frozen carbonated beverage;
(II) Foods or Classes of Food that may be Sold at Composite Food Shop: Siu Mei or Lo Mei, Cut fruit, Leung Fan, Non-bottled drinks, Frozen confections, Chinese herb tea, Milk or any milk beverage within the meaning of the Milk Regulation (Cap. 132 AQ) other than milk or milk beverage approved by the Director under section 5(2) of that Regulation, Sashimi, Sushi, Oyster to be eaten in raw state;
(III) Reheating of pre-cooked food for sale;
(IV) Sale of food by a vending machine.
Restricted Food Permits
Save with the permission of DFEH, no person shall sell, or offer or expose for sale, or possess for sale or for use in the preparation of any article of food for sale, any of the foods specified in Schedule 2 of the Food Business Regulation (Cap. 132X). In this connection, a restricted food permit must be obtained from DFEH for the food business which involves the sale of any of the restricted foods such as the following:
(1) non-bottled drinks: Non-bottled drinks are those drinks prepared for immediate consumption and do not require storage in sealed bottles, cans or other containers, for example, fresh fruit juice, diluted drinks prepared from concentrated fruit juice or syrup, soya bean juice, etc. Drinks sold from a manual dispensing machine also belong to this category. However, if non-bottled drinks are sold by a coin-operated automatic vending machine, a permit for such machine shall have to be applied for separately.
(2) frozen confections: If a machine for the manufacture of soft ice cream is installed in a shop which is issued with a frozen confection permit for selling frozen confections, a separate frozen confection factory licence for the manufacture of soft ice cream from the soft ice cream machine is also required.
(3) milk and milk beverages: A milk permit is not required for the sale in sealed containers of sterilized milk or sterilized milk beverage which have been approved by the DFEH.
(4) cut fruit
(5) Chinese herb tea
(6) leung fan
(7) sushi
(8) sashimi
(9) oysters to be eaten in raw state
(10) meat to be eaten in raw state
(11) live fish
(12) shell fish
(13) food sold by means of a vending machine
(14) online sale of pre-packaged chilled and frozen meat (such as beef, pork and mutton)
(15) online sale of pre-packaged sushi and sashimi
(16) online sale of pre-packaged oysters to be eaten in raw state
(17) online sale of pre-packaged chilled and frozen shellfish
(18) online sale of frozen confections in original cups and wrappers
(19) online sale of other types of pre-packaged restricted foods
Before making an application for the more common type of restricted food permits such as non-bottled drinks permit, frozen confections permit, milk permit and online restricted food permit, the applicant should note the following for reference :-
＊Online Sale of Restricted food
All restricted foods for sale or offered for sale on website or online platform account shall be pre-prepared, pre-packaged and supplied by approved suppliers. No storage, handling (such as cutting up, slicing, packing or wrapping, etc.) or preparation of restricted foods shall be conducted at the place where the online sale business is conducted. Otherwise, a relevant restricted food permit or an appropriate food business licence may be required under Food Business Regulation. If different types of restricted foods are offered for sale online, each type of restricted food should be covered by a separate permit.
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If you have further enquire, please feel free to contact Tannet at anytime, anywhere by simply visiting Tannet’s website english.tannet-group.com, or calling Hong Kong hotline at 852-27826888 or China hotline at 86-755-82143422, or emailing to tannetgroup@gmail.com / tannet-solution@hotmail.com.
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