Can technology improve Hong Kong food safety? From liquid eggs to urban farming, manufacturers turn to innovation as consumers demand transparency
- Government subsidies help food and drink businesses invest in efficient automated production lines that allow greater control over contamination risks
- Consumers want better information about where food and drink products come from and how safe they are
Hong Kong urban farmer Raymond Mak Ka-chun does not grow vegetables at his hi-tech enterprise at the Tseung Kwan O InnoPark.
Instead, he helps supermarkets and restaurants grow their choice of herbs and leafy greens using a fridge-sized device on wheels that his company developed.
“By having freedom to decide what to grow and when to eat, they ensure the produce they use is the freshest, while preventing wastage and spoilage,” said Mak, CEO of Farmacy, Hong Kong’s first decentralised urban farming technology company founded in 2018.
Mak, 40, is among entrepreneurs in the food and beverage manufacturing sector who have embraced tech and automation at a time when consumers are demanding better information about the origin and safety of products.
His two-by-1.4-metre device for automated vertical farming has a system that ensures optimal levels of water, nutrients, light, temperature and other factors to grow 200 stems of greens at any one time.
Clients buy seeds from the company for 3,500 to 4,000 stems a year, taking four to six weeks to harvest greens such as kale and lettuce, or herbs like basil and rosemary, and seven to 10 days for microgreens like mustard and wheat grass.
