The takeaways in Macau have been booming in recent years and in order to further improve the authorities’ food safety supervision system and respond to requests for strengthened supervision in the society, the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) plans to establish a registration system for takeaways, the bureau said in a statement yesterday.
According to the statement, mandatory registration will be imposed on takeaways which currently are not regulated by licences.
“The focus will be on monitoring and controlling food production source and processing procedures to step up supervision of food safety,” the statement said, adding that the new registration system will require takeaways to register their business before starting it, in order to be permitted to operate in a physical store.
According to the statement, third-party online food ordering platforms will also be required to ensure that the takeaways using the platforms have completed the official registration process before selling food.
At present, the statement noted, there are about 2,100 takeaways in Macau, involving food processing, preparation and sale, some of which even sell raw and chilled seafood, sushi and other kinds of comestibles that potentially pose a relatively high health risk.
The bureau said that there are plans for two different registration methods in the future for the sector to submit applications, either by visiting any of the IAM service centres in person or by e-application.
The proposed target groups of the proposed registration system cover the manufacturing, processing, cooking or preparation of food which currently do not have to be licensed such as snack bars, takeaway boxed meal shops, takeaway beverage shops, sushi and sashimi shops, bakeries and pastry shops, convenience stores and souvenir shops.
However, according to the statement, temporary businesses or stalls for selling food, stalls in public markets, as well as food businesses that are required to obtain a licence or permit according to other laws and regulations, are regulated in line with existing laws and regulations and therefore will not be covered by the new registration system.
