Dysphagia Knowledge Hub — 吞嚥困難知識庫

HKCSS Care Food Directory — How to Use It as a Caregiver

TL;DR: The HKCSS Care Food Directory (carefood.org.hk) is a free, publicly searchable database of texture-modified foods and thickened drinks sold in Hong Kong. It uses standardised Care Food Labels aligned to IDDSI levels, so caregivers can find appropriate products without needing a clinical background. This guide walks you through what the directory is, how to read the labels, and how to use it for your loved one’s daily meals.

What Is the HKCSS Care Food Directory?

The Hong Kong Council of Social Service (HKCSS) launched carefood.org.hk as a public reference platform for care food — texture-modified and nutrition-enriched food products designed for people with chewing or swallowing difficulties (dysphagia).

The directory was developed in partnership with:

Together, these institutions helped develop Hong Kong’s localised Care Food Standard Guideline, which is built on the international IDDSI (International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative) framework but adapted for local ingredients, cooking methods, and terminology. 1

Why Does the Directory Exist?

Families caring for people with dysphagia — most commonly older adults who have had a stroke, are living with Parkinson’s disease, or have dementia — face a difficult problem: commercial food labels do not tell you whether a product is soft enough, smooth enough, or cohesive enough for someone with a swallowing impairment.

Before the directory, caregivers had to rely on word of mouth, trial and error, or expensive consultations with speech therapists just to identify safe packaged food options.

The Care Food Directory solves this by requiring listed products to carry standardised Care Food Labels, which communicate texture level in simple, icon-based language that caregivers can understand without clinical training. 2

Understanding Care Food Labels

Every product listed in the directory carries one or more Care Food Labels. Each label has three components:

1. Texture Level Icon

Labels use icon-based levels aligned to IDDSI:

Care Food Label Level Corresponds to IDDSI Who it is for
Soft & Bite-Sized IDDSI Level 6 Mild chewing difficulty
Minced & Moist IDDSI Level 5 Moderate chewing or early swallowing difficulty
Puréed IDDSI Level 4 Significant swallowing difficulty; cannot manage lumps
Liquidised IDDSI Level 3 Severe dysphagia; requires smooth, no-particle liquids

Important: Always follow the texture level prescribed by your loved one’s speech therapist or dietitian. The directory is a shopping tool, not a replacement for clinical assessment.

2. Suitability Indicators

Some labels include supplementary symbols indicating:

3. Product Category

Products are categorised into: staples (rice/noodles), protein dishes, vegetables, soups, desserts, and beverages/thickeners.

How to Search the Directory: Step-by-Step

Step 1: Go to carefood.org.hk The site is available in Traditional Chinese and English. Select English from the top menu.

Step 2: Click “Product Directory” This shows the full searchable database. As of 2025, the directory lists dozens of commercially available products from Hong Kong-based food manufacturers and social enterprises.

Step 3: Filter by texture level Use the filter panel on the left to select the texture level your loved one needs. If you are unsure of the correct level, check the speech therapist’s assessment report — it will state a texture or IDDSI level recommendation.

Step 4: Filter by product type Narrow down by category (e.g., “main dish”, “dessert”, “drink”) and any dietary requirements (e.g., halal, lower sodium).

Step 5: Check the product detail page Each product page shows:

Step 6: “Care Food Around You” map The directory includes a location feature (“Care Food Around You 2025”) that maps out physical retail locations stocking certified care food products near your district. 3

What Products Are Listed?

The directory covers both manufactured products and some recipes developed under the “Care Cuisine” initiative. Categories include:

Manufactured products:

Care Cuisine items: HKCSS developed a “Care Cuisine” concept in collaboration with registered dietitians and speech therapists, producing recipes that use common Hong Kong ingredients adapted to soft or pureed textures. Some social enterprises sell ready-made versions of these dishes. 4

Limitations Caregivers Should Know

  1. Self-certification exists: Not all listed products have been independently laboratory-tested. Some manufacturers self-certify their texture level. If your loved one has severe dysphagia (IDDSI Level 3–4), ask the speech therapist to verify a new product before introducing it regularly.

  2. The directory does not replace clinical assessment: The correct texture level for your loved one must be determined by a speech therapist using standardised clinical tests (e.g., FEES, VFSS, or bedside swallowing evaluation). The directory helps you shop; it does not help you assess.

  3. Products change: Manufacturers may update recipes or discontinue items. Always check the best-before date and whether the product formulation matches the listed specification.

  4. Not exhaustive: Many suitable products sold in supermarkets are not listed in the directory simply because the manufacturer has not applied. A product being absent from the directory does not mean it is unsuitable — but it does mean no standardised assessment has been done.

Practical Tips for Daily Use

For new caregivers:

For experienced caregivers:

For institutional buyers (residential care homes, day care centres):

The Bigger Picture: Care Food Standards in HK

The Care Food Directory is part of a broader effort by HKCSS to formalise care food standards in Hong Kong. In 2025, HKCSS led the development of the Care Food GBA Standard (T/SATA 084-2025 and T/SATA 085-2025) — a cross-border standard for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area — which standardises texture measurement methods and labelling across the region. 5

This means products meeting the GBA standard and listed in the Hong Kong directory will increasingly be available in Guangdong province, and vice versa — expanding choices for families across the region.

Citations and Sources

This article paraphrases publicly available HKCSS guidelines and Care Food Directory resources. For clinical practice, always follow the recommendations of a registered speech therapist or dietitian. This page is not medical advice.

Last updated: 2026-04-13 · License: CC BY 4.0 · Maintained by Editorial Team — a Hong Kong social enterprise producing IDDSI-compliant care food for people living with dysphagia. This page is educational only; see About for our clinical partners and social mission.

  1. HKCSS — “Care Cuisine” for the Elderly — https://www.hkcss.org.hk/%e9%95%b7%e8%80%85%e3%80%8c%e6%87%b7%e9%8c%ab%e6%96%99%e7%90%86%e3%80%8d/?lang=en ↩

  2. Care Food — Care Food Labels — https://www.carefood.org.hk/en/%e7%85%a7%e8%ad%b7%e9%a3%9f%e6%a8%99%e7%b1%a4 ↩

  3. Care Food — Care Food Around You 2025 — https://www.carefood.org.hk/en/%e7%85%a7%e8%ad%b7%e9%a3%9f%e5%8d%80%e5%8d%80%e6%9c%89%e5%95%86%e5%a5%bd%e9%a3%9f2025 ↩

  4. HKCSS Care Cuisine — carefood.org.hk — https://www.carefood.org.hk/en/product-page/%e7%a4%be%e8%81%af%e7%85%a7%e8%ad%b7%e9%a3%9f-%e9%95%b7%e8%80%85-%e6%87%b7%e9%8c%ab%e6%96%99%e7%90%86-care-cuisine-for-the-elderly ↩

  5. HKCSS — Care Food GBA Standard Officially Promulgated — https://www.hkcss.org.hk/care-food-gba-standard-officially-promulgated-foundation-for-standardization-of-care-food-products-and-development-of-the-silver-economy-in-the-guangdong-hong-kong-macao-region/?lang=en ↩