CFS announces food safety report for September

The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (October 30) released the findings of its food safety report for last month. The results of about 16,900 food samples tested were satisfactory except for nine samples that were announced earlier. The overall satisfactory rate was 99.9 per cent.
 
A CFS spokesman said about 2,000 food samples were collected for microbiological tests, some 5,500 samples were taken for chemical tests and the remaining 9,400 (including about 9,000 taken from food imported from Japan) were collected to test radiation levels.
 
The microbiological tests covered pathogens and hygiene indicators, while the chemical tests included pesticides, preservatives, metallic contaminants, colouring matters, veterinary drug residues and others.
 
The samples comprised about 4,400 samples of vegetables and fruit and their products; about 1,000 samples of cereals, grains and their products; about 1,100 samples of meat and poultry and their products; about 1,500 samples of milk, milk products and frozen confections; about 1,700 samples of aquatic and related products; and about 7,200 samples of other food commodities (including beverages, bakery products and snacks).
 
The nine unsatisfactory samples comprised a squid sample and a wheat germ sample found to contain excessive cadmium, three samples of frozen confection detected with excessive counts of hygiene indicator organisms, three fruit and vegetable samples detected with excessive pesticide residue, and a prepackaged grouper sample found to contain malachite green.
 
The CFS has taken follow-up action on the unsatisfactory samples including informing the vendors concerned of the test results, instructing them to stop selling the affected food items and tracing the sources of the food items in question.
 
The spokesman reminded the food trade to ensure that food for sale is fit for human consumption and meets legal requirements. Consumers should patronise reliable shops when buying food and maintain a balanced diet to minimise food risks.
 
Ends/Friday, October 30, 2020