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The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (June 30) reminded the trade that the preventive measures taken by the Centre in response to the substandard lard incident in Taiwan last year, including the issuance of three Food Safety Orders and a directive on a total ban on the import into and sale within Hong Kong of all edible oil produced in Taiwan, are still in force.
A spokesman for the CFS said that upon notification by the relevant department on the import into Hong Kong of sesame oil manufactured in Taiwan, the CFS has liaised with the importer concerned to follow up on the incident, and urges the trade to observe the directive and not to sell the product concerned.
Details of the product are as follows:
Product name: Sesame oil
Place of origin: Taiwan
Manufacturer: Hung Yi Oil Manufacturing Factory
Importer: Wah Sun Hong
Manufacture dates: April 20, April 21, April 22 and April 24, 2015
Net weight: Three kilograms per bottle
"According to the information provided by the importer, the import quantity of the affected Taiwanese sesame oil was 60 cartons of a total of 360 bottles, of which four cartons were sold while the remaining 56 cartons are stored in the importer's warehouse," a CFS spokesman said.
The spokesman said, "The sesame oil in question does not belong to the food items not allowed to be supplied in Hong Kong under the Food Safety Orders, however it is the oil product prohibited to be imported into and sale within Hong Kong under an executive directive which is still in force. Therefore, the trade should follow the instruction of the CFS and stop selling and using the product immediately. The importer concerned has voluntarily stopped the sale and recalled the product concerned and isolated the remaining stock. The Centre is tracing the distribution of the product."
The spokesman said the Centre has been keeping close contact with the Taiwanese authorities to follow up on the safety of edible oil produced by Taiwan. The Centre will adjust its food safety control measures as appropriate and make announcement accordingly.
The CFS will inform the Taiwanese authorities and the local trade, closely follow up the incident and take appropriate actions to safeguard food safety and public health. Investigation is ongoing.
Ends/Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Issued at HKT 21:30
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