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The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) today (March 25) advised people not to consume a kind of Pura Slim Milk Drink imported from Australia as it was detected with a total bacterial count exceeding the legal limit. The trade should also stop selling the affected product.
The importer concerned has stopped supply of the product and has initiated a recall according to the instruction of the CFS.
Details of the product concerned are as follows:
Product name: Pura Slim Milk Drink
Place of origin: Australia
Expiry date: March 31, 2014
Packing size: 1 litre
"A sample of the milk product was collected for testing at the import surveillance level. The test result showed that the total bacterial count of the sample was 130 million per millilitre," a CFS spokesman said.
"According to the Milk Regulation (Cap 132 AQ), milk after heat treatment by means of pasteurisation should not contain more than 30 000 bacteria per millilitre," he said.
The CFS has notified the importer, Vitasoy International Holdings Limited, that the batch of the product has contravened the Milk Regulation. As three products of the same brand available for sale in Hong Kong are manufactured by the same processing plant, for the sake of prudence, the importer has voluntarily stopped the sale of, and taken the initiative to recall, the other two milk products, namely Pura Fresh Australian Milk and Pura Hi-Lo High Calcium Low Fat Milk Drink, in addition to the abovementioned slim milk. The Centre has also suspended importation of the three products with immediate effect and issued a rapid alert of the incident to the trade.
The importer is the sole importer of the milk product concerned. According to the information provided by the importer, the affected products were available for sale at various retail outlets (including supermarket chains). For enquiries about the product recall, consumers can call a hotline set up by the importer at 2468 9645.
A batch of Pura slim milk imported from Australia was detected to have a total bacterial count exceeding the legal limit in May last year. The CFS thus suspended import of all products of the same brand manufactured by the same processing plant for investigation by the Australian authorities and the manufacturer.
After investigation, the Australian authorities were of the view that the irregularity might be caused by a problem of temperature control and asked the trade to make rectifications accordingly. The importer of the product was also changed subsequently. The product was allowed to be imported again in October last year.
"The total bacterial count exceeding the legal limit indicates unsatisfactory hygienic conditions. It will be prudent for consumers who have bought the affected product to stop consuming it. The trade should also stop selling the affected product," the spokesman said.
The CFS has requested the Australian authorities to investigate the case. It will also monitor the recall of the affected product and continue to follow up on the case.
Ends/Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Issued at HKT 20:08
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