The city, according to the experts, is unlikely to enjoy a direct benefit from the US agency's move.

The FDA offices are in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, with the mainland sending food and quality control officials to the United States.

At the opening of the Beijing office yesterday, FDA commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach said they were looking forward to working with the central government and manufacturers to ensure that FDA standards for safety and manufacturing quality are met before products are shipped to the United States.

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Of the US$320 billion (HK$2.49 trillion) in goods the United States imported from China last year, about US$$4.4 billion were food products.

The FDA plans to establish offices in the coming months in India, Latin America and Europe.

But Thomas Chan Yan-keung, director of the Centre for Food and Drug Safety at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said the offices appeared to be more for business.

Chan said it would be difficult to access the impact on public health and food safety without both sides disclosing more details, such as the scope of performance and power of the new offices.

He also pointed out standards set by the US authorities may not be practical for other countries while Hong Kong, as a World Health Organization member, normally follows the WHO's recommendations.

Chan said the WHO targets global situations while the FDA looks more at its own country.

"For instance, the United States has very stringent safety standards on mercury found in fish. But to most countries, including those in Asia, fish is a major source of protein which people will find hard to replace."

Chan said the only benefit of the new offices to Hong Kong is the sharing of research data and testing results.

His view is shared by legislator and public doctor Leung Ka-lau. "China is such big country. How will a few offices be able to keep an eye on the food items produced by all mainland provinces and cities," Leung said.

"The new offices are more an amicable gesture of both sides with China opening up to the United States while the FDA can help boost consumers' confidence in products from the mainland."

But whether the offices can boost public confidence is debatable. "The key is whether there will be more discovery of health hazards from Chinese products after the offices are set up," Leung said.