The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (October 25) said that a kind of prepackaged mushroom imported from Japan has been found to contain a preservative, sulphur dioxide, that was not declared on the product's food label, in breach of the food labelling regulations. Follow-up is in progress.

     Product details are as follows:

Product name: Hana Donko (Oitakenshiitake Oitaken Dried Hana Donko Shiitake Mushroom)
Place of origin: Oita Prefecture, Japan
Net content: 100 grams
Best-before date: August 3, 2019

     "Subsequent to announcing earlier that a prepackaged mushroom sample taken from a supermarket in Central was detected with sulphur dioxide that was not declared on its food label, the CFS took a mushroom sample of the same kind but of a different batch from the same supermarket for testing during follow-up investigation. A similar irregularity was detected with the test result showing that the sample also contained sulphur dioxide which was not declared on its food label," a CFS spokesman said.

     "The CFS has informed the vendor concerned of the irregularity and instructed it to stop sale and remove from shelves all batches of the affected product. The CFS is also tracing the source of the affected product. Should there be sufficient evidence, prosecution will be instituted," the spokesman added.

     The spokesman pointed out that although the level of sulphur dioxide contained (41 parts per million) in the above-mentioned sample is within the legal limit, susceptible individuals who are allergic to sulphur dioxide may experience breathing difficulties, headache and nausea if they consume this kind of food.

     The spokesman urged the trade to observe the relevant laws and regulations. The Food and Drugs (Composition and Labelling) Regulations (Cap 132W) require that the food ingredients of all prepackaged food for sale in Hong Kong should be listed out in the list of ingredients. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $50,000 and six months' imprisonment.

     The CFS will notify the trade, continue to follow up on the incident and take appropriate action. Investigation is ongoing.

     The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, this morning (October 25) concluded her visit to Beijing and departed for Hebei, where she met with the Secretary of the CPC Hebei Provincial Committee and the Governor of Hebei Province and visited the Xiongan New Area.
 
     Mrs Lam, accompanied by the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Patrick Nip, and the Director of the Chief Executive's Office, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, met with the Secretary of the CPC Hebei Provincial Committee, Mr Wang Dongfeng, and the Governor of Hebei Province, Mr Xu Qin, in Shijiazhuang in the morning. Noting that this is the opening year of Hong Kong's better integration into the overall development of the nation, she said that the recent commissioning of the Hong Kong Section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge as well as the upcoming opening of the Liantang/Heung Yuen Wai Boundary Control Point lay a solid foundation for the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. She said that with the integration of Hong Kong into the overall development of the country, the city will strengthen collaboration with various Mainland provinces and municipalities and hopes to participate in and contribute to the development of the Xiongan New Area. She invited Hebei leaders to visit Hong Kong with a delegation to introduce to Hong Kong enterprises Hebei's advantages and future developments.
 
     After attending a working lunch with Mr Xu, Mrs Lam and the other officials visited the Xiongan New Area affairs service centre and exhibition centre to learn about the present situation of the area and its future planning, transport infrastructure, smart city construction blueprint and cultural conservation. The state-level Xiongan New Area, established last year, is designed to develop as an international city with high-tech industries. Housing higher education and research institutions, medical and health institutions, financial institutions, high-end services and high-tech industries, the area will be developed to relieve Beijing of functions that are not essential to its role as the nation's capital.
 
     Mrs Lam and the other officials then visited Baiyangdian Lake to learn about measures to protect the surrounding ecological environment and the biodiversity of the freshwater lake. Baiyangdian Lake is the largest freshwater lake in the North China Plain and an important part in the development of the Xiongan New Area into an ecological city.
 
     Mrs Lam and the other officials concluded the trip in the afternoon and returned to Hong Kong in the evening.

                

     Unistress Building Construction Limited, Oriental Designs (Metal Work) Eng Co Limited and Win Chun Engineering Limited were fined $95,000, $90,000 and $90,000 respectively at Shatin Magistrates' Courts today (October 25) for violation of the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance and the Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Safety Management) Regulation. The prosecutions were launched by the Labour Department.
      
     The case involved a fatal accident that occurred on March 8, 2017 at a building construction site in Ma On Shan. While four workers were working in pairs on two temporary working platforms at the 8/F and 9/F levels of the external walls of a building under construction for curtain wall installation, the upper working platform suddenly collapsed and collided with the lower working platform below, causing three of the workers to fall to the ground and a bamboo platform at M/F level respectively. As a result, one worker died and the other two sustained injuries.

     The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (October 25) that in view of a notification from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs about an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N6 sub-type avian influenza in Dianjun District, Yichang City in Hubei Province, it has followed the existing approach for control of highly pathogenic avian influenza and taken recommendations from the World Organisation for Animal Health into account to suspend the import of poultry and poultry products, including poultry eggs, from an area within a radius of 3 kilometres from the said place for a period of 90 days, and from an area within a radius of 13km for 21 days, with immediate effect for the protection of public health in Hong Kong.

     A spokesman for the CFS said that according to information from the General Administration of Customs, the outbreak does not affect any registered Mainland poultry farms that export to Hong Kong. No registered poultry meat or poultry egg processing plants are currently situated within the import restriction zone concerned.

     The CFS will closely monitor the latest developments of the avian influenza case in the province and take appropriate follow-up action as necessary.

     The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (October 25) announced that a prepackaged spinach sample was detected with cadmium, a metallic contaminant, exceeding the legal limit. The CFS is following up on the incident.

     Details of the product are as follows:

Product name: Baby Spinach
Product brand: Earthbound Farm
Place of origin: USA
Net weight: 5 ounces/142 grams per pack
Use-by date: October 27, 2018

     "Subsequent to announcing earlier that a spinach sample taken from a supermarket in Ma On Shan was detected with excessive cadmium, the CFS took a spinach sample of the same kind but of a different batch from the same supermarket for testing during follow-up investigation. A similar irregularity was detected, with the test result showing that the sample contained cadmium at a level of 0.14 parts per million (ppm), exceeding the legal limit of 0.1 ppm," a CFS spokesman said.

     "The CFS has informed the vendor concerned of the irregularity and instructed it to stop sale and remove from shelves all batches of the affected product. The CFS is tracing the source of the affected product. Should there be sufficient evidence, prosecution will be instituted," the spokesman added.

     According to the Food Adulteration (Metallic Contamination) Regulations (Cap 132V), any person who sells food with metallic contamination above the legal limits 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 will not be caused under usual consumption," the spokesman said.

     The CFS will alert the trade, continue to follow up on the incident and take appropriate action. Investigation is ongoing.