Press Releases
SHWF in Germany (with photos)
In Berlin, Germany, the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Dr York Chow,
had the opportunities to meet with the German Federal Minister of Health, Mrs
Ulla Schmidt, and the State Secretary, Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and
Consumer Protection, Mr Gert Lindemann.
He had also had an in-depth discussion on food safety issues with the Federation
Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety.
The Federal Minister of Health offered some insights into the German healthcare
system. It was noted that healthcare took up a large proportion of the national
expenditure, with contribution also coming from employers and the individual
apart from taxation.
To tackle the ever-increasing expenditure in healthcare, like many other places
including Hong Kong, Germany was embarking on a more proactive approach of
encouraging the public to more actively take care of their own health by leading
a more healthy lifestyle, thereby reducing the number of medical consultations
and hospital stay.
Coinciding with Dr Chow's views, the Minister reckoned that preventive care
should always stay in the forefront of cure while rehabilitation was an area
that needed be more heavily emphasised.
In the meeting with the Federation Office of Consumer Protection and Food
Safety, Dr Chow was given a good understanding of the German system of food
safety assurance.
Dr Chow was informed that apart from relying on the European Union as a
gatekeeper in monitoring food imports, the German Federal made good use of
electronic facilities including the Internet to keep a watchful eye on potential
threats.
It was noted with interest that coincidentally, Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety
was also widely using the Internet to complement official sources of
information.
Elaborating further, the meeting pointed out that individual states had also had
the obligation to gather intelligence at their own level to inform Federal,
while the importers and wholesalers were legally bound to make sure that their
supplies were safe for consumption.
The State Secretary, Mr Gert Lindemann, told Dr Chow that the German government
was making efforts to enhance consumers' right to information and that a
consumer information law had been put to the Parliament. Upon the enactment of
which, consumers would enjoy the right to seek clarification of claims in food
from the suppliers.
Mr Lindemann remarked that unlike some countries, the German government did not
subscribe to the stance that it was the government's responsibility to advise
consumers whether a food was healthy to eat, adding that the role of his
government was to provide sufficient information for the consumers to make a
decision of their own.
Dr Chow paid a courtesty call to the Chinese Ambassador to Germany, Mr Ma
Canrong.
In his next stop, Dr Chow will be in Geneva, Switzerland to attend the World
Health Organisation's "60th World Health Assembly" as a member of the Chinese
delegation.
Ends/Saturday, May 12, 2007
Issued at HKT 17:35
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