CFS announces food safety report for April

The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (May 29) released the findings of its food safety report for last month. The results of about 11,400 food samples tested were satisfactory except for 13 samples that were announced earlier. The overall satisfactory rate was 99.9 per cent.
 
A CFS spokesman said about 1,000 food samples were collected for microbiological tests, some 2,800 samples were taken for chemical tests and the remaining 7,600 (including about 7,200 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 2,800 samples of vegetables and fruit and their products; 600 samples of cereals, grains and their products; 600 samples of meat and poultry and their products; 800 samples of milk, milk products and frozen confections; 1,200 samples of aquatic and related products; and 5,400 samples of other food commodities (including beverages, bakery products and snacks).
 
The 13 unsatisfactory samples comprised five frozen confection samples detected with excessive counts of hygiene indicator organisms, two samples of bottled fruit juice drinks contaminated with patulin, a sweet potato sample detected with excessive lead, a frozen swordfish fillet sample found to contain excessive methylmercury, a vegetable sample detected with excessive pesticide residue, a grass carp sample found to contain traces of malachite green, a prepackaged cut fruit sample found to contain Salmonella and a turnip pudding sample found to contain excessive Bacillus cereus.

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, May 29, 2020