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The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (August 31) announced that a sample of soy sauce chicken taken from a restaurant in Kowloon Tong was found to contain an excessive amount of coagulase-positive staphylococci organisms. The CFS will continue to follow up on the case.
A CFS spokesman said, "Under its regular Food Surveillance Programme, the CFS took the aforementioned soy sauce chicken sample from the restaurant for testing. Result showed that the sample contained coagulase-positive staphylococci organisms at a level of 360 000 per gram. Under the Microbiological Guidelines for Food, if each gram of ready-to-eat food contains more than 10 000 coagulase-positive staphylococci organisms, it is considered unsatisfactory , i.e. potentially injurious to health and/or unfit for human consumption.
"Coagulase-positive staphylococci organisms can produce enterotoxins that cause food poisoning. Common symptoms include nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain, often accompanied by diarrhoea," he added.
According to Section 54 of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap 132), all food for sale in Hong Kong, locally produced or imported, should be fit for human consumption. An offender is subject to a maximum fine of $50,000 and imprisonment for six months upon conviction.
The CFS has informed the restaurant operator of the test result, and has instructed them to stop sale of soy sauce chicken and review the processing procedure of the relevant food product. The CFS will trace the source of the food product and conduct follow-up investigation. Prosecution will be instituted should there be sufficient evidence.
Ends/Monday, August 31, 2015
Issued at HKT 21:10
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