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In response to media enquiries, a spokesman for the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) said today (December 18) that the Centre had collected from January to November this year a total of 126 oyster samples at import, wholesale and retail levels for chemical tests.
The samples included 87 fresh oysters, 34 oyster meat, five dried oysters/smoked oysters.
The chemical tests cover metallic contaminants (including cadmium, chromium, arsenic, mercury and lead), pesticides (including DDT and other organo-chlorine compounds), toxins (including paralytic shellfish poison), dioxins, preservatives (including benzoic acid and sorbic acid) and antioxidants.
"The test results of 124 samples were satisfactory. But two samples were found to contain cadmium exceeding the permitted level of 2 ppm. Apart from one oyster meat sample containing cadmium at a level of 3.3ppm, which had been announced in the Fifth Food Safety Report, one fresh oyster sample was found to contain cadmium at a level of 3.5 ppm. Based on the levels of cadmium detected, normal consumption should not pose any adverse health effects," a CFS spokesman said.
"The latest sample was taken from a market stall in Tung Chung. The CFS has taken follow-up actions, including tracing the source, asking the stall concerned to stop selling and to dispose of remaining stock, taking further samples and issuing a warning letter."
The spokesman said that bi-valve shellfish such as oysters could accumulate in their bodies contaminants in the environment such as heavy metals. He advised members of the public to maintain a balanced diet so as to avoid taking in excessive contaminants through a particular group of food.
Ends/Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Issued at HKT 21:20
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