CFS announces food safety report for January

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     The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (February 28) released the findings of its food safety report for the last month. The results of about 14 000 food samples tested were satisfactory except for six samples that were announced earlier. The overall satisfactory rate was 99.9 per cent.
 
     A CFS spokesman said about 1 800 food samples were collected for microbiological tests, some 3 500 samples were taken for chemical tests and the remaining 8 700 (including about 8 500 taken from food imported from Japan) were collected to test radiation levels.
 
     The microbiological tests covered pathogens and hygiene indicators, while the chemical tests included pesticides, preservatives, metallic contaminants, colouring matters, veterinary drug residues and others.
 
     The samples comprised about 3 400 samples of vegetables and fruit and their products; 600 samples of cereals, grains and their products; 700 samples of meat and poultry and their products; 1 500 samples of milk, milk products and frozen confections; 1 500 samples of aquatic and related products; and 6 300 samples of other food commodities (including beverages, bakery products and snacks).
 
     The six unsatisfactory samples comprised five frozen confection samples detected with counts of hygiene indicator organisms exceeding the legal limit and a raw oyster sample found to contain excessive cadmium.
 
     The CFS has taken follow-up action on the unsatisfactory samples including informing the vendors concerned of the test results, instructing them to stop selling the affected food items and tracing the sources of the food items in question.
 
     The spokesman reminded the food trade to ensure that food for sale is fit for human consumption and meets legal requirements. Consumers should patronise reliable shops when buying food and maintain a balanced diet to minimise food risks.

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