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The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (December 5) announced that a sample of locally made vanilla flavour ice-cream was found to contain a coliform count exceeding the legal limit. Follow-up is in progress.
A spokesman for the CFS said, "The CFS collected a sample of the above-mentioned product from a premises with a frozen confection factory licence in Tsuen Wan for testing under its regular Food Surveillance Programme. The test result showed that it contained a coliform count of 3,100 per gram, exceeding the legal limit."
The spokesman said that, according to the information provided by the frozen confection factory, the ice-cream manufactured by the premises was only supplied to restaurants under the same business group.
Under the Frozen Confections Regulation (Cap 132 sub leg AC), each gram of frozen confection for sale should not contain more than 100 coliform organisms. The maximum penalty for offenders is a fine of $10,000 and three months' imprisonment upon conviction.
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"The CFS has informed the frozen confection factory concerned of the irregularity and instructed it to stop selling the affected product immediately. The CFS has also provided health education on food safety and hygiene for the person-in-charge and staff of the frozen confection factory, and has requested them to carry out thorough cleaning and disinfection on the premises. The frozen confection factory is recalling?the affected batch?of ice-cream from the restaurants concerned," the spokesman said.
The fact that the coliform count exceeded the legal limit indicated that the hygienic conditions were unsatisfactory, but did not mean that consumption would lead to food poisoning.
The CFS will follow up on the case closely and take appropriate actions to safeguard food safety and public health.
Ends/Saturday, December 5, 2015
Issued at HKT 16:41
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