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 12 200 food samples tested were satisfactory except for five samples that were announced earlier. The overall satisfactory rate was 99.9 per cent.
 
     A CFS spokesman said about 1 300 food samples were collected for microbiological tests, some 2 900 samples were taken for chemical tests and the remaining about 8 000 (including about 7 600 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 3 000 samples of vegetables and fruit and their products; about 600 samples of cereals, grains and their products; about 500 samples of meat and poultry and their products; about 900 samples of milk, milk products and frozen confections; about 1 200 samples of aquatic and related products; and about 6 000 samples of other food commodities (including beverages, bakery products and snacks).
 
     The five unsatisfactory samples comprised two samples of bottled fruit juice drink contaminated with patulin, a frozen confection sample detected with excessive counts of hygiene indicator organisms, a grass carp sample found to contain traces of malachite green and a prepackaged fruit juice sample found to contain sulphur dioxide not declared on its food label.
 
     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.