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Excessive cadmium found in prepackaged frozen brown crab sample

  • 2017.10.17

The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (October 17) announced that a prepackaged frozen brown crab sample imported from the United Kingdom was detected with cadmium, a metallic contaminant, exceeding the legal limit.

Details of the product are as follows:
 
Product name: Frozen Cooked Devon Brown Crab
Product brand: Wild Bay
Place of origin: United Kingdom
Distributor: Sun Wah Marine Products (HK) Co Ltd
Net content: 1 Piece (Minimum Net Weight 800 grams)
Best-before date: October 3, 2018
 
"The CFS collected the brown crab sample at a supermarket in Sha Tin for testing under its routine Food Surveillance Programme. The result showed that the sample contained cadmium at a level of 2.84 parts per million (ppm), exceeding the legal limit of 2ppm," the spokesman said.

"The CFS has informed the vendor concerned of the irregularity. The vendor has stopped sale of the affected batch of the product and initiated a recall according to CFS' instructions. Members of the public may call the vendor's hotline at 2694 1111 during office hours for enquiries about the recall. The CFS is tracing the source of the product," the spokesman added.

According to the Food Adulteration (Metallic Contamination) Regulations (Cap 132V), any person who sells food with metallic contamination above the legal limits is liable upon conviction to a fine of $50,000 and imprisonment for six months.

The spokesman said that edible portion of crabs' cephalothorax (mainly consists of internal organs like crab roes and hepatopancreas) are generally tainted with higher levels of cadmium and other contaminants. People who consume more crabs should avoid consuming crabs' cephalothorax. The trade is also advised to ensure that all foods sold in Hong Kong comply with the legal requirements.

The CFS will alert the trade, continue to follow up on the incident and take appropriate action to safeguard food safety and public health. Investigation is ongoing.

Reprinted from HKSAR Government:

http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201710/17/P2017101700943.htm