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The Centre for Food Safety today (February 15) released test results for another 308 samples of Lunar New Year foods.
The food items collected for chemical and microbiological tests included puddings, sesame balls, crispy triangles, crispy sesame seed balls, candies, glutinous rice balls, melon seeds, pistachios, preserved meat, dried seafood, vegetarian foods, "poon choi" and tea leaves.
The chemical tests targeted preservatives, anti-oxidants, colouring matters (including Sudan dyes), sweeteners, mineral oil, heavy metals and pesticides, while microbiological tests covered pathogenic bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella.
For the current batch, 10 unsatisfactory samples were found to contain sulphur dioxide exceeding the permitted levels.
The samples included three "jinzhen" (with sulphur dioxide detected at 6,300 ppm, 7,400 ppm and 9,500 ppm respectively), one dried bamboo fungus (at 3,300 ppm), one sweetened lotus seed (at 2,800 ppm), one sweetened coconut triangle (at 2,400 ppm), two sweetened water chestnuts (both at 1,300 ppm), one sweetened coconut slice (at 650 ppm) and one sweetened tangerine (at 1,900 ppm).
According to the law, the permitted level of sulphur dioxide for dried vegetables and dried fruits is 2,000 ppm. For sweetened fruits, the use of other preservatives such as benzoic acid and sorbic acid is allowed and the permitted level of sulphur dioxide is 100 ppm.
"Sulphur dioxide is commonly used in food as a preservative and as a bleaching agent. The chemical is water soluble and most of it can be removed after thorough soaking, washing and cooking. Based on the levels of sulphur dioxide detected in the samples, normal consumption should not pose any adverse health effects," the spokesman said.
The spokesman said warning letters had been issued to the retailers and suppliers concerned asking them to stop selling the products in question. The CFS would continue to monitor the situation closely.
The CFS earlier released test results for Lunar New Year food in which 299 out of a total of 303 samples were found satisfactory.
In another development, the Food and Drug Administration of the United States, in investigating a number of Salmonella cases, found that two brands of peanut butter might be involved. The brands are Peter Pan and Great Value (both have a product code that begins with the number "2111"). The CFS is contacting the US authorities for more information.
"We appeal to retailers to stop selling the same batch of affected products and the public not to consume them.
"We will make inspections and monitor the situation," the spokesman said.
Ends/Thursday, February 15, 2007
Issued at HKT 19:20
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