Consumers are urged to eat less dried meat products as a Consumer Council survey found eight of 23 shredded squid samples to contain arsenic above the permitted level.

The council tested 65 samples of dried meat products - 15 dried beef, 14 dried pork, 13 pork floss, 23 shredded squid and dried fish - sourced from local outlets.

The amount of arsenic found in eight shredded squid samples ranged 12.7-35.3 mg/kg and a dried fish sample 7.7 mg/kg. Under the law, the maximum permitted levels of arsenic in squid and fish are 10 mg/kg and 6 mg/kg.

The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives has advised the amount of inorganic arsenic that can be ingested weekly for a 60kg person is 0.9 mg. Consuming three 90g packages of the sample detected with 35.3 mg/kg total arsenic in a week may already have exceeded the tolerable level.

Chronic exposure to inorganic arsenic compounds is associated with skin lesions, hyperkeratosis and chronic pathological liver changes. According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, there is sufficient evidence that arsenic in drinking water can cause skin and lung cancer in humans.

Excessive preservatives

Meanwhile, an excessive amount of the preservative benzoic acid was detected in a shredded squid sample and sorbic acid in another sample.

Fourteen samples of dried beef, dried pork and pork floss were also found with benzoic and sorbic acids. The two preservatives might have come from the soy sauce or other flavourings used in the production.

As rather high sodium and sugar contents are found in these tasty dried foods, consumers are advised of the health risks of habitual consumption of high level of sodium and sugar, and reminded of the importance of a balanced diet to stay healthy.

Overall the microbiological quality of all samples was deemed satisfactory.

Included in the test were 26 samples - nine dried beef, 11 dried pork and six shredded squid - sourced from outlets in Macau. As with the local samples, most contained quite a high level of sodium and sugar.