In order to increase the motivation of people in charge of food and beverage establishments to ensure food safety and to encourage food and beverage businesses to create environments that support healthy eating, the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) and the Health Bureau recently gave a briefing about the “Safe Food—Incentive Scheme for Hygiene Self-Inspection” and the “Restaurant─Alimentação Saudável” (“Restaurant─Healthy Eating”) scheme to representatives of the food and beverage sector.

During the briefing session, IAM introduced in detail the participant eligibility, application procedures and rules of the “Safe Food—Incentive Scheme for Hygiene Self-Inspection”, which will help members of the sector improve internal food safety management and encourage them to carry out hygiene self-inspection and provide food safety training to employees on a regular basis, so as to enhance their food safety performance and improve food quality. Members of the sector are welcome to actively participate in the “Safe Food” scheme. For more details, they can visit the dedicated page of the “Safe Food” scheme on the Food Safety Information website (www.foodsafety.gov.mo), or call 8296 1242 or 8296 1231 during office hours for enquiries.

Representatives from the Health Bureau introduced the “Restaurant─Alimentação Saudável” (“Restaurant─Healthy Eating”) scheme it launched to the sector during the briefing session. The scheme is aimed to create healthy eating atmosphere in the community, work with members of the sector to create healthy eating environments, provide the public with healthy eating options, and improve their health literacy. Restaurants licensed by the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), food and beverage establishments licensed by IAM, and establishments of takeaway activities licensed by IAM that provide at least five “Healthy Eating” dishes daily can register to participate in the scheme. For more details, members of the sector can visit the Health Bureau’s dedicated page of “Alimentação Saudável” (“Healthy Eating”) at https://www.ssm.gov.mo/healthyeating/, call 6677 3943 or contact this number on WeChat, or send an email to dps@ssm.gov.mo.

Association representatives of the sector attending the briefing session included: The United Association of Food and Beverage Merchants of Macao, Associação dos Comerciantes da Boa Cozinha de Macau, Macao Catering Industry Association, and Macau Hoteliers & Innkeepers Association. In addition, representatives from IAM and the Health Bureau also gave detailed sharing and introductions on the above two schemes at the “Food Safety Expert Symposium” held earlier to assist the sector in food safety management and strive to ensure food safety in Macao.