To

Provide for an exemption from civil liability under certain circumstances in respect of food donated to charities; and to provide for related matters.
Enacted by the Legislative Council.

1. Short title

This Ordinance may be cited as the Food Donation (Exemption from Civil Liability) Ordinance.

2. Interpretation

  • In this Ordinance –
    charity (慈善團體) means any charitable institution or trust of a public
    character that is exempt from tax under section 88 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap.112);
    donate (捐贈) means giving for free, and donor (捐贈者) is to be construed
    accordingly;
    food (食物) –

      • (a)means food intended for human consumption; and
      • (b)includes –
        -drinks (except beverages that contain more than 6% of alcohol by volume);
        -food ingredients;
        -any edible substance that is generally not consumed as a part of regular diet but is nevertheless generally regarded as beneficial to health or nutritious, and
        -snacks; but
      • (c)  does not include –
        medicines as defined by section 2 (1) of the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance (Cap.138); or
        Chinese herbal medicines or proprietary Chinese medicines as defined by section 2 (1) of the Chinese Medicine Ordinance (Cap.549);
        for free (免費) means not for monetary or other material reward.
        -For the purposes of this Ordinance, the time of donation of an item of food is when it is no longer in the possession or control of its donor.

3. Application

  1. This Ordinance applies to food donated after the commencement of this Ordinance.
  2. This Ordinance does not apply to any food disposed of or received by –
    (a)the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; or
    (b)any of the Offices set up by the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

4. Exemption from civil liability in respect of donated food

  1. Subject to the preconditions prescribed in subsections (2) and (3) being met and to subsections (4) and (5), a person (donor) who donates any food to a charity does not incur any civil liability in respect of any personal injury or disease suffered by any person, or the death of any person, resulting from the consumption of the food.
  2. The first precondition is the food donated must be of the type of food that the donor distributes, processes, or otherwise handles in the donor’s normal course of business.
  3. The second precondition is the donor honestly believes that the food is, at the time of the donation, fit for human consumption.
  4. The exemption under subsection (1) does not apply in relation to the donation if the donor —
    (a)comes into possession, before the ultimate user receives the food, of any information that suggests that the quality of the food may have been affected to such an extent that it is no longer fit for human consumption; and
    (b)fails to pass the information to the charity as soon as practicable.
  5. The exemption under subsection (1) does not apply in relation to an item of food if –
    (a)the packaging of the item shows a printed caution that the item is to be consumed by a date specified in the caution; and
    (b)the item is donated by the donor after that date.
  6. To avoid doubt –
    (a)the words “Use by” or “在此日期前食用”, if appear before or above a date, are presumed to be a caution mentioned in subsection (5)(a) unless the contrary is proved; and
    (b)the words “Best before” or “在此日期前最佳“ do not constitute a caution mentioned in subsection (5)(a).

5. Exemption from civil liability in respect of certain assistance in food donation

  1. Subject to the preconditions prescribed in subsections (2), (3) and (4) being met, a person (helper) who provides any facility or assistance in the storage or transportation of any food donated to any charity does not incur any civil liability in respect of any personal injury or disease suffered by any person, or the death of any person, resulting from the consumption of the food.
  2. The first precondition is the facility or assistance is provided for free.
  3. The second precondition is the facility or assistance is provided before the charity takes possession of the food.
  4. The third precondition is the helper has no reason to doubt the quality of the food.