CFS announces food safety report for June
The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (July 29) released the findings of its food safety report for last month. The results of about 6 800 food samples tested were satisfactory except for eight samples that were announced earlier. The overall satisfactory rate was about 99.9 per cent.
A CFS spokesman said about 2 100 food samples were collected for microbiological tests, and about 4 700 samples were taken for chemical and radiation level tests.
The microbiological tests covered pathogens and hygiene indicators; the chemical tests included testing for pesticides, preservatives, metallic contaminants, colouring matters, veterinary drug residues and others; and the radiation level tests included testing for radioactive caesium and iodine in samples collected from imported food from different regions.
The samples comprised about 2 200 samples of vegetables and fruit and their products; about 600 samples of cereals, grains and their products; about 700 samples of meat and poultry and their products; about 1 200 samples of milk, milk products and frozen confections; about 900 samples of aquatic and related products; and about 1 200 samples of other food commodities (including beverages, bakery products and snacks).
The eight unsatisfactory food samples comprised an uncooked dumpling wrapper sample and a dried bamboo fungus sample detected with a preservative exceeding the legal limit, a prepackaged pork jerky sample detected with a non-permitted preservative, a prepackaged chilled smoked salmon sample suspected to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, a fried rice sample found to contain excessive Bacillus cereus, a frozen confection sample detected with a total bacterial count exceeding the legal limit, a choi sum sample detected with pesticide residues exceeding the legal limit and a fresh beef sample found to contain sulphur dioxide.
The CFS has taken follow-up action on the above-mentioned 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, July 29, 2022