Just one of four established Hong Kong fermented tofu makers approached by the Post has gone on record to say its products are entirely locally produced, after a century-old business fell from grace over controversy about the safety and origins of its goods.
The Post on Tuesday inquired about the manufacturing process behind the decades-old brands following Liu Ma Kee’s closure over revelations it had imported its fermented tofu from mainland China for about 30 years and resold it with additives introduced under poor hygiene conditions.
The 119-year-old business earlier said it had chosen to import the product as it could not meet the city’s stringent sewage treatment regulations.
In light of the case, the Post reached out to four Hong Kong fermented tofu producers, with only one saying its entire production process took place in the city.
Tai Ma Sauce Company, which has eight stores in the city, said that their fermented bean curd products were wholly made in Hong Kong.
Business owner Chau Ka-wai said Tai Ma Sauce sourced its tofu from other companies in the New Territories, before conducting the fermentation and flavouring stages at its site in Kowloon Bay.
Other businesses approached by the Post expressed a reluctance to discuss where the various stages of their production process took place.
A representative for the Kui Lee Sauce and Preserved Fruit condiment business, which was established in 1936, initially told a reporter posing as a customer that the fermentation and early production process for its product took place on the mainland.
The company’s fermented tofu carries a label describing it as a “product of Hong Kong” and lists its manufacturing site as a facility in Kwu Tong, near Sheung Shui.
The Post also approached a Kui Lee employee at its Causeway Bay store, who insisted the product was entirely locally made.
The company refused to comment further when the Post phoned the business and sent another reporter to visit.
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Century-old Hong Kong fermented tofu brand Liu Ma Kee shuts shop amid hygiene and origin row
Century-old Hong Kong fermented tofu brand Liu Ma Kee shuts shop amid hygiene and origin row
A staff member at the Kung Wo Beancurd Factory’s store in Sham Shui Po was also approached for comment about its fermented tofu products, which list Hong Kong as the “country of origin” on its labels.
But the employee stopped short of saying whether the entire production process took place in the city.
“We will do our part. Thank you for your support,” she said.
The Post also spoke to a shopkeeper at Yau Lee Bean Sauce Supreme’s store in Causeway Bay about the origins of its fermented tofu. The products do not carry any label stating whether they are made in Hong Kong.
“We are a ‘Hong Kong brand’,” she said. “Now with the incident involving [Liu Ma Kee], we had better speak carefully.”
Lawyer Eric Chan Pak-ho explained to the Post that local laws defined the country of origin for a product as “the place in which the goods last underwent a treatment or process which changed permanently and substantially the shape, nature, form or utility of the basic materials used in their manufacture”.
The lawyer noted that whether a process constituted the criteria outlined in the law depended on the degree of change involved.
“If the food as imported could readily be consumed without such a process, then it should not count as such,” Chan said.
He added that the fermenting and seasoning process of imported raw tofu, even if it had been fermented, should still amount to a “permanent and substantial” change to the product.
Additional reporting by Oscar Liu and Jess Ma
