Food Alerts / Allergy Alerts - *(Updated on 24 January 2019) Imported prepackaged lemon juice concentrate suspected to contain undeclared preservative

*(Updated on 24 January 2019) Imported prepackaged lemon juice concentrate suspected to contain undeclared preservative

Issue Date	4.1.2019
Source of Information	Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) of the European Commission
Food Product	Prepackaged lemon juice concentrate
Product Name and Description	Product name: Würzmittel mit Zitronensaft (lemon juice concentrate) Product brand: Piacelli Citrilemon Place of origin: Italy Packing: 200 millilitres per pack Best-before-date: July 14, 2020 *Updated on 24 January 2019 Product name: Dressing Lemon Juice/Zitronensaftkonzentrat Product brand: Piacelli Citrilemon Place of origin: Italy Packing: 200 millilitres per bottle Best-before dates: July 14 to December 17, 2020 Product name: Dressing Lemon Juice/Zitronensaftkonzentrat Product brand: Piacelli Citrilemon Place of origin: Italy Packing: 1 litre per bottle Best-before dates: July 14 to December 17, 2020 Product name: Dressing Lemon Juice-Lime/Limettensaftkonzentrat Product brand: Piacelli Citrigreen Place of origin: Italy Packing: 200 millilitres per bottle Best-before dates: July 14 to December 17, 2020 Product name: Dressing Lemon Juice-Lime/Limettensaftkonzentrat Product brand: Piacelli Citrigreen Place of origin: Italy Packing: 1 litre per bottle Best-before dates: July 14 to December 17, 2020
Reason For Issuing Alert	The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) received a notification from the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) of the European Commission that the above-mentioned product was suspected to contain sulphur dioxide but undeclared on the food label. According to information provided by the RASFF, a local importer, Coils Electronic Co. Ltd. had imported the affected product into Hong Kong. The CFS immediately contacted the importer concerned for follow up. Preliminary investigation found that importer had imported the affected batch of product which were on sale in its chain stores. Sulphur dioxide is a water soluble preservative of low toxicity. However, susceptible individuals who are allergic to this preservative may experience breathing difficulties, headache and nausea. *Updated on 24 January 2019 The CFS announced earlier that a batch of the abovementioned brand of lemon juice was suspected to contain sulphur dioxide but undeclared on the food label. According to latest information on the expansion of recall of the product concerned provided by RASFF, CFS conducted follow-up investigation and found that the importer concerned, Coils Electronic Co. Ltd, had also imported the above four batches of affected lemon juice which contained sulphur dioxide but undeclared on the food labels and some of them were sold.
Action Taken by the Centre for Food Safety	The CFS has instructed the importer to stop sale and remove from shelves the affected batch of product and initiate a recall. The CFS will alert the trade, continue to follow up on the incident and take appropriate action.
Advice to the Trade	Stop using or selling the product concerned immediately.
Advice to Consumers	Consumers who are allergic to sulphur dioxide to refrain from consuming the affected batch of the product.
Further Information	The CFS press release (4.1.2019) The CFS press release (24.1.2019) Members of the public may call the importer's hotline at 3960 9349 during office hours for enquiries about the recall.

Centre for Food Safety
Food and Environmental Hygiene Department
2019-1-4

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