The Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) said in a statement yesterday that a lemon slices snack sold at the Wing Kut Street Lemon King snack shop on Rua de Coelho do Amaral was found to contain excessive sweetener – cyclohexyl sulfamate (commonly known as Sodium cyclamate) which exceeded the legally permitted maximum amount in line with local health standards, urging the public to stop eating it.
The statement underlined that the bureau has ordered the shop to stop selling the problematic product that was imported from Thailand with the best-before date of February 2, 2024, and to recall it from its customers.
No manufacturers name appears on the packaging.
The statement pointed out that through an IAM routine food sample testing, its inspectors discovered that the product contains 9,100 milligrammes of cyclohexyl sulfamate per kilogramme.
According to the statement, cyclohexyl sulfamate is a commonly used sweetener with high sweetness and low-calorie characteristics, a very little amount of which can achieve the manufacturers’ ideal sweetness in their products.
The bureau noted that the amount of cyclohexyl sulfamate detected in the product’s test sample will “generally” not cause adverse health effects when consumed in normal quantities.
In order to ensure public food safety, the bureau will continue to follow up on the product, the statement said.
The bureau also urged the food sector to buy food from reliable suppliers only, and not to purchase and sell food if there is any doubt about its hygiene and safety.
The statement stressed that the food sector is obliged to keep records and related documents concerning their products so that the authorities can, if need be, track their origin and sales cycle.
This undated handout photo provided by the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) yesterday shows a lemon slices snack sold at Wing Kut Street Lemon King, a local snack shop on Rua de Coelho do Amaral, containing excessive cyclohexyl sulfamate.
