The Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) said in a statement on Friday that three types of dried Phallus indusiatus (commonly known as bamboo mushrooms) sold locally were found to contain excessive amounts of sulphur dioxide (SO2) that is used as preservatives, adding that two of them were found to have mercury with excessive heavy metal contamination.
The statement noted that IAM inspectors discovered the bamboo mushrooms sold in bulk in the local market with excessive preservatives and heavy metal mercury contamination through their routine food sample testing, pointing out that the three problematic products contain between 2,210 and 3,420 mg of SO2 per kilogramme, while 1.22 mg per kilogramme and 1.149 mg per kilogramme of mercury was found in two of the products respectively.
According to the statement, the samples of the products were taken from Tac Sang Chinese Pharmacy and Ag. Ginseng Kuok Thai on Rua dos Mercadores, as well as Chung Hing Wing Kee Seafood Limited on Rua Oeste do Mercado de S. Domingos.
The statement said that the products were imported from Hong Kong, adding that two of the shops mainly supplied the products to local hotels and restaurants, while the other carried out retail operations in the shop.
The statement underlined that the bureau has taken immediate follow-up measures to order the three shops to stop selling the affected batches of the products. The statement added that the bureau will continue to follow up on the incident and monitor the availability of the products in local shops.
The bureau urged consumers who have bought the problematic mushrooms to stop eating them.
The bureau has informed its counterparts in Hong Kong about the case for follow-up, the statement noted.
According to the statement, SO2 acts as a preservative and a bleaching agent, which may pose a health risk to people with allergies, while mercury is a heavy metal pollutant that could cause damage to the nervous system when consumed in excess.
The statement underlined that according to the test results of the bamboo mushrooms, the amount of the preservative and mercury was generally not harmful to people’s health when “consumed normally”.
This undated handout photo provided by the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) on Friday shows three types of dried bamboo mushrooms containing excessive sulphur dioxide (SO2) and mercury with heavy metal contamination.
