Metallic contaminant exceeds legal limit in prepacked dried bamboo fungus sample

Background:	The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, through its Food Incident Surveillance System, identified a notice issued by the Department of Food Safety of the Macao Municipal Affairs Bureau, that a batch of prepacked dried  bamboo fungus imported via Hong Kong was found to contain Cadmium at a level of  0.27 mg/kg  (after applying the conversion factor of dried food), not complying with the standard of Macao. The CFS therefore immediately contacted the local importer concerned for follow-up. According to the information provided by the importer, the affected batch of product was available for sale in Hong Kong.
Product name:	Imperial Banquet Supreme Dried Bamboo Fungus
Brand:	Imperial Banquet
Place of origin:	Mainland China
Importer:	PARKnSHOP (HK) Limited
Net Weight:	40 grams
Best-Before date:	August 20,2024
Metallic contaminant:	Cadmium
Detected level:	0.27 parts per million (after applying the conversion factor of dried food).
Maximum permitted level:	0.1 parts per million
Source of information:	The Department of Food Safety of the Macao Municipal Affairs Bureau
Remarks:	The Centre for Food Safety has instructed the importer to stop selling the incriminated batch of the affected product. According to the Food Adulteration (Metallic Contamination) Regulations (Cap 132V), any person who sells food with metallic contamination above the legal limit may be prosecuted and is liable upon conviction to a fine of $50,000 and imprisonment for six months Based on the level of Cadmium detected in the sample, adverse health effects would not be caused under usual consumption. The Centre for Food Safety will inform the trade, continue to follow up on the incident and take appropriate action. Investigation is ongoing.

END/Thursday, October 27, 2022