Hong Kong: Healthy Eating
Categories: Uncategorized | Published on November 28, 2012
Thin bodies and healthy lifestyles are now synonymous with advertisements across Hong Kong’s televisions, MTR stations and bus stops. We take a look at what constitutes ‘organic’ food, and whether Hong Kong has accepted it.
Hong Kong has witnessed an advent of ‘Organic’ food appearing in its shops, restaurant menus and billboards. To be organic, food must be produced through methods that do not involve modern synthetic processes or products, such as pesticides, chemical fertilisers or preservatives. ‘Pesticide’ and ‘Preservative’ are the new taboo words of today and there are shared concerns with the seemingly large quantity of chemical fertilisers used in growing crops; often cited as detrimental to local ecosystems and the rest of the environment. There are a number of misconceptions surrounding the use of chemicals and the value of pesticides is sometimes overlooked. Certain crops for example, tend to contract Mycotoxins, a particularly unhealthy fungi that likes to grow on wheat. The use of pesticides can prevent Mycotoxins such as ergot and aflatoxins from poisoning humans.
The debate concerning whether organic food is ‘better’ or ‘worse’ for consumers usually involves looking at the broader advantages and disadvantages. To eradicate the use of pesticides would result in lower crop yields and an increase in overall food costs, but there are growing worries about how much preservatives factor in our food just to prolong shelf life and ‘enhance’ flavours. In any case, Hong Kong consumers are turning to ‘Organic’ labels and ‘Free range’ stickers promoting a multitude of words and terms to describe just how much better your food is without chemicals.
The truth however, is that there is no overarching legal definition for what ‘Organic’ food is. Individual countries have their own laws, but the absence of a regulated body to determine universal standards results in terms like ‘Free Range’ being used as a marketing tool at the companies’ own discretion.
Whether it is the result of a genuine desire to understand food, or clever marketing tactics to push sales forwards, there is clear demand for these ‘Organic’ labels. With the number of organic and ‘preservative free’ products on the rise, we look at the how the buying and eating trends of the world have affected Hong Kong, seeing if the city has… digested…. health-tailored foods.
About 95 percent of Hong Kong’s food supply is imported. With that in mind, it is easy to appreciate how freshness is an important factor for customers when choosing products. When the option of locally sourced foodstuffs is largely removed, it falls for most people to visit one of HK’s upscale supermarkets to find organic alternatives. These upscale supermarkets have prided themselves on providing organic, natural and traceable goods to the people of Hong Kong. Customers targeted are those tending to be middle class or above to attract those happy to spend the extra money:
- Great
- Taste
- City’Super
- Three Sixty
- Marketplace by Jasons
- Olivers the Delicatessen
Related health businesses are arriving in the city adding to the ‘organic’ trend. ‘Mix’ juice bar is one example that has grown to be successful in the city, with six locations opening since 2000. Kampery, a twenty year old Hong Kong company, has capitalised on the organic market with the installation of their Green Dot Dot shops at various locations around HK. They offer customers a sizable list of products, ranging from organic beans, seeds and grains, to organic honey, tea and juice, all the way to sustainably sourced seafood and poultry. With relatively small sized shops located conveniently around the city, a presence in seventeen MTR stations and an online selling presence, the Kampery branch has succeeded in catering for the existing health conscious.
Time constraint is a common problem for Hong Kong workers, many finding it easier to buy meals out rather than prepare something from home. With over 40 percent of HK locals eating lunch out more than five times a week, restaurants promoting healthy menus aim at a substantial target. One particular establishment provides customers with a custom-designed ‘Food Programme’ in which nutrition experts provide a personalised calorie consumption plan for fast-paced professionals. These tailor-made healthy meal combinations are then delivered twice daily directly to client’s office or home.
With the start of the ‘Healthy Exercise for All’ campaign in 2000, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department hoped to raise public’s interest in regular exercise by demonstrating the benefits of it to a healthy lifestyle. The Department of Health began the ‘EatSmart’ campaign, inviting selected restaurants to promote more vegetables and less fatty ingredients in their dishes. Their hope was to “Educate, empower and enable the community to have easier access to healthier dishes when eating out.” The success of the campaign has brought the department forward to creating “[email protected]”, where restaurants must pass an assessment and continue to carry EatSmart dishes to be awarded a new logo.
A recent Hong Kong law cost international food companies in new rulings that require existing nutrition information to exclude claims emphasising ‘high’ or ‘low’ content of any nutrients in food products. If a product claims to be ‘rich in omega-3’ instead of defining the ‘level of omega-3 per g’ for example, the offending text or image must be blacked out before going on the shelves. Promotions of ‘healthier’ attributes without concrete measurements has suppliers paying to re-label products (just for Hong Kong), or in several cases, cease the importation of the product entirely. Whether or not these ‘extra health benefits’ work to the specifications and provide the promised advantages promoted, customer demand is still clearly there.
Traditional Chinese methods and products used for healthy living still have a large presence in the health market. Due to the nature of the ingredients and beliefs, Chinese health shops claim to cater specifically to certain ailments. With tradition to back it up, companies are also able to target the wealthy with premium products, cultivating a sense of prestige.
It appears our unhealthy lifestyles are coming to an end, as people take advantage of the wealth of choice in the health market available. The HK government is doing its part with numerous campaigns to stay healthy and strict regulations on food imports to give citizens a chance to avoid false health benefit claims. The popularity of trendy diets, tailored health foods and discerning customers demonstrates the steps being taken towards achieving a healthier Hong Kong.