Food findings: Centre for Food Safety's Assistant Director Dr Miranda Lee announces the latest food safety test results.

The Centre for Food Safety tested 13,700 food samples in September and October and found 70 to be unsatisfactory.

Two were vegetable samples with a trace amount of pesticides while six preserved vegetable samples contained excessive benzoic acid. Three of these and another dried tomato sample had sulphur dioxide exceeding the permitted level.

A dried hawthorn sample and a plum sample contained non-permitted benzoic acid and sorbic acid. An olive sample contained excessive sulphur dioxide and benzoic acid while another olive sample had non-permitted dyes.

Nine meat samples were detected with sulphur dioxide while three others contained non-permitted veterinary drug residues and food additives. A chicken sample and a pork sample contained the pathogen Staphylococcus aureus.

One fish sample contained veterinary drug residues while four had formaldehyde, chromium, cadmium, and ciguatoxin. Twenty-six ice-cream mooncake samples contained bacteria exceeding legal limits.

Four rice vermicelli samples contained excessive cadmium while a corn chip sample and a rice cracker sample contained non-permitted dyes. A rice roll sample had non-permitted benzoic acid while a root beer sample contained benzoic acid, exceeding the legal limit.

A sample of fried spaghetti with chicken and a sample of soya drink had pathogen Bacillus cereus. Salmonella was found in a congee sample.

Follow-up actions

The centre has traced the sources of the food and asked vendors to stop selling and dispose of the items, and issued warning letters. If there is sufficient evidence, prosecution will be taken.

Most of the breaches are not serious and will not pose immediate health risks.

As a number of unsatisfactory samples related to the use of excessive or non-permitted food additives, the centre urged the food trade to use only permitted food additives, follow good manufacturing practice and comply with legal requirements.