Eating out in restaurants is probably the most favoured pastime in celebration of the festive Chinese New Year.
If Chinese cold dishes which are served in great diversity and abundance are your favourite choices, a word of caution on hygiene is in order.
The Consumer Council in collaboration with the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) have jointly conducted their first-ever test on a large collection of 114 cold dish samples sourced from various eatery outlets including Cantonese, Chiu Chow and Shanghainese cuisines.
The objective was to investigate the microbiological quality of these foodstuffs.
The results are as revealing on the hygiene and safety conditions of these appetizing cold dishes as they are instructive to both consumers and restaurant operators.
First and foremost, 2 of the samples, namely a liquor-saturated chicken （醉雞） and a beancurd with lime preserved eggs （皮蛋豆腐）, were detected to contain the pathogens Salmonella species.
In addition, 11 samples were found to be sub-optimal in their microbiological quality, notably the presence of relatively high levels of E.coli, S.aureus, and/or B.cereus in some samples.
Salmonella species, which are disease-causing bacteria, can be found in raw meat, poultry, eggs and dairy products.
Symptoms of Salmonella infection include nausea, fever, abdominal cramps, diarrhoea and vomiting. The illness usually lasts for several days and is more likely to be severe in the elderly, infants and the infirm.
Under the Microbiological Guidelines for Ready-to-Eat Food established by the CFS, the 2 samples with Salmonella species were classified as Class D, the lowest in the microbiological quality classification.
Samples with Class D microbiological quality mean they contain unacceptable levels of specific pathogens that are potentially hazardous to the consumer.
Upon the discovery of Salmonella species in the 2 samples, the CFS has issued warning letters to the licensees of the restaurants concerned.
In the case of the sample of contaminated beancurd with lime preserved eggs, the restaurant has stopped serving the dish to its customers.
In the case of the restaurant serving the liquor-saturated chicken, the CFS has taken follow-up sample and noted the subsequent improvements.
Amongst the 11 samples with sub-optimal microbiological quality, 7 were also found to have relatively high aerobic colony count (more than 1 million cfu/g).
2 had E.coli level of 440 cfu/g each and 1 had both S.aureus level of 1,000 cfu/g and E.coli level of 120 cfu/g, and 1 contained B.cereus level of 13,000 cfu/g.
Under the CFS Guidelines, these 11 samples were classified as Class C which indicates a sub-optimal microbiological quality and there is need for improvements on the hygienic conditions and microbiological safety levels.
The licensees of the food premises concerned were advised to investigate and to find out the causes with a view to improving the hygienic conditions of their foods.
The causes for poor microbiological quality could be improper handling during the food preparation processes, for example, not being cooked thoroughly, contamination by other sources after cooking, prolonged storage at room temperature or unhygienic practices of the food handlers.
Overall, the test found approximately 11% (13 out of 114 samples) to be of either Class C or Class D microbiological quality.
But consumers need not be unduly worried as the great majority (89%) of the test samples were deemed either satisfactory (Class A) or acceptable (Class B).
Nonetheless, consumers and restaurant operators alike should not take the problem of bacterial food poisoning lightly.
According to Department of Health's statistics, there were 239 outbreaks of bacterial food poisoning affecting 909 people in the first 9 months of last year (between January and September 2009). In 2008, there were 494 reported bacterial food poisoning outbreaks affecting 2,088 people.
Consumers are advised to take heed of the following:
- Choose and patronize hygienic and reliable licensed food premises.
- Consume cold dishes as soon as possible.
- Store cold dishes not immediately consumed at 4℃ or below in a refrigerator.
- High risk groups, i.e. the elderly, young children, pregnant women and those with lower immunity, should choose foods cautiously especially with high risk foods, e.g. cold dishes.
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