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The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is investigating another suspected food poisoning case involving a 39-year-old man, who had consumed vegetables suspected to be contaminated by chemicals, and reminded people to maintain good personal, food and environmental hygiene to prevent food-borne diseases.
The man consumed dinner in a restaurant in Yuen Long on February 19. He developed numbness and swelling over lips, burning sensation around mouth and in the throat after consuming unknown plants mixed in a vegetable dish. The man had sought medical treatment from the Accident and Emergency Department of Pok Oi Hospital but did not require hospitalisation. He is now in stable condition.
Including the two earlier cases last Thursday (February 17) in Mong Kok and Hung Hom, a total of eight out of the nine vegetable samples collected by the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) were tested negative for pesticide. The test of the remaining one was still in progress.
The CFS said that consuming plants with calcium oxalate crystal such as wild taro might result in numbness and swelling over lips, burning sensation around mouth and in the throat. These plants might mix with vegetables, causing food poisoning.
Members of the public are reminded to maintain good personal, food and environmental hygiene at all times to prevent food-borne diseases. Make sure that vegetables are washed thoroughly and remove any plants mixed in the vegetables.
Ends/Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Issued at HKT 20:59
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