Test results on Lunar New Year food (first phase) all satisfactory

The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (January 19) announced that test results of 470 samples collected under the recently completed first phase of a seasonal food surveillance project on Lunar New Year (LNY) food were all satisfactory.

"The LNY is coming soon and the CFS has conducted this seasonal food surveillance project in two phases. During the first phase of the project, the CFS collected different types of LNY food, including steamed puddings (e.g. turnip pudding and festive cake), fried dumplings (e.g. sesame balls and crispy triangles), candied fruits and vegetables, glutinous rice balls, seeds, dried vegetables, dried aquatic products and Chinese preserved meat for microbiological and chemical tests," a spokesman for the CFS said.

Microbiological tests covered different food poisoning pathogens, such as Salmonella, Clostridium perfringens, Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus. Chemical tests targeted preservatives (e.g. sulphur dioxide, benzoic acid and formaldehyde), colouring matters (e.g. Sudan dyes), antioxidants, metallic contaminants (e.g. cadmium, mercury and arsenic, etc) and toxins (e.g. aflatoxin).

Despite the fact that all the samples tested were satisfactory, the spokesman reminded the food trade to comply with the legal requirements, follow Good Manufacturing Practice and use permitted food additives only in an appropriate manner. Retailers should source food from reliable suppliers, and conduct quality audits of incoming materials and end products to ensure that ingredients used are within legal standards. Furthermore, the food trade should maintain a good record-keeping system in accordance with the requirements of the Food Safety Ordinance to allow source tracing if needed.

The spokesman also advised consumers to buy LNY food from reliable retailers with good hygiene conditions; make sure the packaging of prepackaged cakes and snacks is intact and the products have not expired; refer to the nutrition information on labels for healthier food choices; and pay attention to the hygiene conditions of food containers and the personal hygiene of staff when buying non-packaged food (e.g. candied lotus seeds, nuts and melon seeds).

"Consumers should choose food products with natural colours. Bright white pistachios may have been bleached and melon seeds with unnatural gloss may have had mineral oil added. Consumption of these food products can cause gastrointestinal discomfort," the spokesman said.

"Festive cakes that are not for immediate consumption should be kept refrigerated. People should pay heed to expiry dates and reheat the products thoroughly before consumption, and discard those with mould or an abnormal smell or taste. Leftovers should not be stored in the refrigerator for longer than three days and should not be reheated more than once. Nuts and melon seeds should not be kept for a long time and mouldy ones should not be eaten," he added.

The spokesman reminded the public to maintain a balanced diet and avoid foods that are high in energy, sugar, salt, fat or cholesterol during LNY.

The CFS will continue to conduct surveillance on LNY food and the second phase results will be released in a timely manner to ensure food safety.

Ends/Monday, January 19, 2015