CFS announces food safety report for August

The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (September 30) released the findings of its food safety report for last month. The results of about 7,100 food samples tested were satisfactory except for 10 samples that were announced earlier. The overall satisfactory rate was about 99.9 per cent.

A CFS spokesman said about 1,800 food samples were collected for microbiological tests, and about 5,300 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 2,500 samples of vegetables and fruit and their products; about 500 samples of cereals, grains and their products; about 600 samples of meat and poultry and their products; about 1,400 samples of milk, milk products and frozen confections; about 800 samples of aquatic and related products; and about 1,300 samples of other food commodities (including beverages, bakery products and snacks).

The 10 unsatisfactory food samples comprised a king crab sample and two prepackaged dried porcini samples detected with metallic contaminants exceeding the legal limit, a celery sample and a mango sample detected with excessive pesticide residues, a prepackaged dried mushroom sample and a prepackaged drink sample detected with a preservative exceeding the legal limit, an edible ice sample detected with coliform bacteria exceeding the limit set out in the Microbiological Guidelines for Food, a yellowtail sashimi sample found to contain Salmonella 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, September 30, 2022