Industry happy with IAM’s new measures to ensure good practices

The Food and Beverage (F&B) industry is happy with the new measures launched by the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) which aim to ensure that establishments enforce good food safety practices systematically, said a representative from the sector interviewed by the media on the sidelines of the 2023 World Food Safety Day and Food Safety Industry Exchange Conference event, held yesterday at the Macau Tower.

Questioned by the media on the topic, Wu Tat Chong, representing the Industry and Commerce Association of Macau ZAPE, said that the idea of having a “secret customer” system, in which unidentified inspectors from IAM will visit stores regularly as a consumer to report on the practices of handling the food and beverage items, is “good for the industry,” he said, noting that “with a good reputation comes more business.”

Wu also noted that the industry has been paying a lot more attention to matters related to food safety especially since the Covid-19 pandemic, adding that several good practices regarding cleanliness and disinfection have persisted after the pandemic, improving the image of the establishments.

Questioned also on the practice of the broad disclosure of the name of the food establishments involved in cases of food poisoning, the same representative said that it would potentially contribute to extra care regarding food safety practices.

Another representative of the industry, Lam Wai Ong, the head of the Macau Bakery, Food and Souvenir Business Association (Ou Mun Peng Sek Sao Son Ip Seong Wui) said that there are several practices currently in force that must be addressed, noting as an example the use of scissors holding pieces of jerky and other dried meat items being very popular at tourist landmarks. Lam said that this practice is dangerous and may cause severe harm to people, especially when the streets are crowded. He suggested the industry enforce cleaner and more appropriate practices including sample size packaging distribution of the products, instead of the current practice in which sellers just take samples from the items on display for sale.

During the seminar session held earlier on the current situation of the F&B industry in Macau, a representative from the IAM’s Department of Food Safety, Lei Sok In, noted that in Macau there are currently 8,096 F&B-related licensed stores and venues. This includes not only F&B establishments but also food processing venues (276) and other food retailers (988), which includes supermarkets, fruit stalls, convenience stores, and wholesale venues.

Lei also noted that the current number of take-away establishments (including bakeries, sushi shops, snack shops, and Char Siu meats stalls) have reached a total of 3,625.

The seminar and sharing sessions included over 150 representatives of the sector.

In the opening speech, O Lam, vice president of the IAM, highlighted the end of the pandemic and the return of visitors to Macau as a turning point for the industry that has been struggling over the pandemic times. She noted further that now that tourists are back in large scale it is necessary to pay “special attention” to food safety, and that the Bureau will continue to work to guarantee the good name of Macau as a “gourmet capital.”