Food Safety Focus (161st Issue, December 2019) – Food Incident Highlight

Recent Social Events and Food Safety

In view of the recent social events, there are public concerns that food may be contaminated by tear gas or other substances.

To reduce the risk of contamination, food should be properly stored in a suitable place such as a clean and covered food-grade container. In an indoor environment when tear gas is being released nearby, close all doors and windows, turn off the air conditioner, and seal the gaps over the doors and windows with wet towels to reduce the chance of contamination indoors. After any such incident, check whether the packaging of food is intact and whether any food is damaged or contaminated. For the sake of prudence, food suspected to be contaminated or showing abnormality should not be consumed.

In general, contaminants on the surface of some kinds of food, such as fruits and vegetables, can be reduced by washing with running water. However, for the sake of prudence, food suspected to be contaminated or showing abnormality should not be consumed.