Centre for Food Safety announces test results of seasonal food surveillance on lap-mei (second phase)

The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) today (January 15) announced the test results of a recently completed seasonal food surveillance project on lap-mei (second phase). Except for four prepackaged lap-mei samples announced earlier which were found to be not in compliance with nutrition label rules, the test results of the 92 samples collected were satisfactory.

A CFS spokesman said, "Lap-mei is popular in winter and the CFS has therefore conducted a seasonal food surveillance project on lap-mei in two phases. The first-phase test results were released in November 20 last year, with all samples passing the tests. During the second phase of the project, a variety of lap-mei samples including Chinese pork sausages, Chinese liver sausages, preserved duck meat and preserved pork were collected from different retailers (including online retailers) for chemical tests and nutrition content analyses. Chemical tests targeted veterinary drug residues and preservatives usually found in preserved food including nitrate and nitrite, as well as other food additives such as sulphur dioxide and colouring matters. For nutrition content analyses the content values of energy, carbohydrates, protein, total fat, saturated fatty acids, trans fatty acids, sodium and sugars of the samples were tested to see if the test results comply with their declared values on the nutrition labels."

The four prepackaged lap-mei samples found not in compliance with nutrition label rules included two Chinese pork sausage samples, one Chinese liver sausage sample and one preserved duck breast sample.

"Members of the public should maintain a balanced diet and avoid excessive eating of lap-mei in view of its nitrate/nitrite level and potential risk of nitrosamine, as well as its relatively higher sodium, sugar and fat content, especially for individuals with diabetes, heart disease and high cholesterol. In addition, infants are highly susceptible to nitrite toxicity and should avoid consuming lap-mei. The intake of lap-mei among young children should also be restricted. Furthermore, the International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization has classified processed meat as 'carcinogenic to humans' (Group 1), and has advised consumers to reduce the consumption of processed meat," the spokesman added.

The spokesman also appealed to the trade to comply with the legal requirements, follow good manufacturing practice and use permitted food additives in an appropriate manner. Retailers should source food from reliable suppliers and maintain a good recording system in accordance with the Food Safety Ordinance to allow source tracing if needed.

Ends/Friday, January 15, 2016