Dried bean curd from Taiwan suspected to contain colouring matter, Dimethyl yellow

The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (January 23) urged the public not to consume five kinds of pre-packed dried bean curd imported from Taiwan following a notification from the Taiwanese authorities that the products may contain Dimethyl yellow, a non-permitted colouring matter in food. The trade should also stop selling the products in question immediately for the sake of prudence.

Product details provided by the Taiwanese authorities are as follows:

Product name: 1. Beef Flavored Dried Beancurd
2. Stew Dried Beancurd
3. Black Pepper Dried Beancurd
4. Mushroom Dried Beancurd
5. Satay Sauce Dried Beancurd
Manufacturer: Te Chang Foods
Place of origin: Taiwan
Manufacturing date: March 18, 2014; April 8, 2014; April 29, 2014; April 30, 2014; May 19, 2014;
June 24, 2014; June 30, 2014; August 22, 2014;
August 25, 2014; and November 11, 2014.

"Following the CFS' recent detection of Dimethyl yellow in a dried bean curd sample originating from Taiwan, the Taiwanese authorities have been conducting follow-up investigations and informed us early this month that seven kinds of bean curd containing the colouring matter in question have been exported to Hong Kong. The CFS has immediately instructed the importer concerned and the food trade to stop selling and initiate a recall of the products in question.

"Another notification from the Taiwanese authorities was received today that the five other kinds of bean curd (10 batches in total) mentioned above were also found to contain Dimethyl yellow and had been exported to Hong Kong. The CFS immediately contacted the importer, B&S Company, and instructed the company to stop selling and conduct a recall of the affected products. The CFS will alert the trade to the incident and suspend the import of the above-mentioned products," a spokesman for the CFS said.

"Furthermore, five batches of Doshee Preserved Chili Bean Curd were included in the list of food containing Dimethyl yellow sent to us by the Taiwanese authorities today. The CFS already instructed the trade to stop selling all batches of the product last Friday following the detection of Dimethyl yellow in the product concerned under its regular Food Surveillance Programme earlier," he added.

According to the Colouring Matter in Food Regulations (Cap. 132H), Dimethyl yellow is not permitted to be used in food in Hong Kong. The maximum penalty for selling food containing added non-permitted colouring matter is a fine of $50,000 and six months' imprisonment if convicted.

"Although there have been research results showing that Dimethyl yellow might cause cancer in experimental animals, no sufficient evidence has been found to confirm the health effects on humans from dietary intake of this colouring matter. However, for the sake of prudence, retailers should stop selling the affected products and return them to the supplier/importer concerned. Consumers should also avoid consuming the affected products," the spokesman said.

When choosing snacks, consumers should go for healthy snacks in appropriate portions, avoid those which are high in fat, sugar or salt, and choose more high-fibre snacks.

The CFS will continue to closely monitor the situation and the recall. Appropriate actions will be taken to safeguard food safety and public health.

Ends/Friday, January 23, 2015