CFS announces food safety report for November

The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (December 31) released the findings of its food safety report for last month. The results of about 19,300 food samples tested were satisfactory except for seven samples that were announced earlier. The overall satisfactory rate was 99.9 per cent.
 
A CFS spokesman said about 3,100 food samples were collected for microbiological tests, some 6,000 samples were taken for chemical tests and the remaining 10,200 (including about 10,000 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 3,700 samples of vegetables and fruit and their products; about 1,000 samples of cereals, grains and their products; about 1,300 samples of meat and poultry and their products; about 3,100 samples of milk, milk products and frozen confections; about 2,100 samples of aquatic and related products; and about 8,100 samples of other food commodities (including beverages, bakery products and snacks).
 
The seven unsatisfactory samples comprised two fruit samples detected with excessive pesticide residue, a chicken claw sample found to contain Salmonella, a soybean milk sample detected with excessive Bacillus cereus, a chocolate fudge icing sample detected with excessive preservative, a caramel syrup sample detected with non-permitted preservative, and a prepackaged milk product sample found with milk fat not in compliance with the legal requirement.
 
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/Thursday, December 31, 2020