CFS announces food safety report for May
The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (June 30) released the findings of its food safety report for last month. The results of about 8 400 food samples tested were found to be satisfactory except for nine unsatisfactory samples which were announced earlier. The overall satisfactory rate was 99.9 per cent.
A CFS spokesman said about 2 200 food samples were collected for microbiological tests, and about 6 200 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 3 600 samples of vegetables and fruit and their products; about 700 samples of cereals, grains and their products; about 700 samples of meat and poultry and their products; about 1 100 samples of milk, milk products and frozen confections; about 900 samples of aquatic and related products; and about 1 400 samples of other food commodities (including beverages, bakery products and snacks).
The nine unsatisfactory samples comprised two cake samples found with excessive Bacillus cereus, two ice-cream samples detected with coliform bacteria exceeding the legal limit, two fresh beef samples found to contain sulphur dioxide, a pickled vegetable sample detected with a preservative exceeding the legal limit, a Chinese amaranth sample detected with an excessive pesticide residue and a prepackaged pancake mix sample detected with a non-permitted preservative.
The CFS has taken follow-up actions 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 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.
Separately, to fully prepare in response to Japan's discharge plan of wastewater from Fukushima nuclear power plant, the CFS has gradually stepped up radiological tests on imported Japanese food products. For details of the test results, the public can visit the CFS website (www.cfs.gov.hk/english/programme/programme_rafs/monthly_japan_nuclear_incidents.html).
Ends/Friday, June 30, 2023