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¡@¡@The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) announced today (July 24) results of chemical and microbiological tests on 345 samples of various types of street snacks collected from some 200 retail shops.
¡@¡@Except two curry squid and one fried pig intestine samples, which were found to contain non-permitted colouring matter Orange II, all the other samples were satisfactory.
¡@¡@The snacks tested in this project included:
*stewed food/eggs/marinated food (such as fish balls, pork skin, tea eggs and marinated ox tripe);
*grilled/baked food (including chicken wings, grilled dried squid, baked sweet potatoes, egg waffles);
*non-bottled drinks/confectionery (such as flavoured ice beverages, fresh juices, steamed rice cup cakes and soybean curd desserts);
*stir-fried/deep-fried food (like deep-fried pork intestines, fried stuffed tofu/green peppers/eggplants and stir-fried noodles)/frying oil;
*sauces/others (such as satay sauce, fish siu mai, cold lo mein).
¡@¡@Chemical analyses include colouring matters (such as Orange II and Sudan dyes). Some vegetable samples, such as baked sweet potatoes, were also tested for pesticide residues. Microbiological tests cover pathogenic bacteria such as Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus.
¡@¡@In addition, the CFS tested the level of aflatoxins and peroxide value in samples of frying oil. All the test results were satisfactory.
¡@¡@"The detected levels of Orange II in the three food samples are unlikely to pose any immediate health risk under normal consumption. These samples were collected from three shops. The CFS has issued warning letters to the operators and is taking follow-up action," a CFS spokesman said.
¡@¡@The CFS reminds the trade that they should use only permitted food additives, follow good manufacturing practice and comply with legal requirements for manufacturing food products. To ensure food safety, they should always observe hygienic practices. Food businesses should choose cooking oil of good quality and consistent stability and replace cooking oil frequently. The public should maintain a balanced diet and avoid eating too much food with high energy, sugar and fat.
Ends/Thursday, July 24, 2008
Issued at HKT 17:21
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