Alert on bottled fermented bean curd with possible contamination with a pathogen (with photo)

The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) today (July 13) advised people not to eat a kind of fermented bean curd cubes, pre-packed in bottles and manufactured in China, which might have been contaminated with Bacillus cereus, a pathogen. The trade should immediately stop selling or using the product.

A CFS spokesman said, "In response to a food complaint earlier, the CFS took a sample of bottled fermented bean curd cubes each from an importer and a distributor of food. The two samples are of the same brand but from different batches.

"The test results showed that both samples contained Bacillus cereus at excessive levels of 3.4 million per gram and 0.37 million per gram respectively. According to the 'Microbiological Guidelines for Ready-to-eat Food', it is potentially hazardous to consumers if over 0.1 million of Bacillus cereus per gram of food is detected."

Product details of the two unsatisfactory samples are as follows:

Product name: San Bu Bridge Kaiping Preserved
Bean Curd
(1,000 grams per bottle)
Best before date: July 29, 2012　 (Sample 1)
November 29, 2012　(Sample 2)
Manufacturer: Kaiping Chuang Feng
Trading Company Limited of Guangdong
Place of origin: China

Bacillus cereus is commonly found in the environment. Unhygienic conditions in food processing and storage may give rise to its growth. Consuming food contaminated with excessive bacillus cereus may cause gastrointestinal upset such as vomiting and diarrhoea.

The spokesman said, "The CFS visited the offices of the importer and the distributor for investigation. All remaining stocks of the product concerned were disposed of.

"Warning letters have been issued to the relevant distributor and importer. The trade has also been alerted to stop selling the affected product."

He advised consumers who have bought the particular product, regardless of any batch, to stop eating it. People should seek medical treatment if they feel unwell after eating the product.

"The CFS has informed the Mainland authorities of the incident for follow-up actions. We will continue to monitor the situation and take appropriate follow-up actions," he said.

Ends/Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Issued at HKT 19:25

The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) today (July 13) advised people not to eat a kind of fermented bean curd cubes called San Bu Bridge Kaiping Preserved Bean Curd, as shown in the photo, which was pre-packed in bottles, manufactured in China and might have been contaminated with Bacillus cereus, a pathogen. The trade should immediately stop selling or using the product.