The Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) received a report from the Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety on Tuesday about a batch of bottled preserved bean curd sold locally that was found to contain an excessive amount of Bacillus cereus – 1,300,000 per gram – which exceeded the legally permitted maximum amount in line with Hong Kong health standards, the bureau announced in a statement on yesterday.
The bureau has meanwhile ordered shops to stop selling the bottled preserved bean curd that weighs 255 grams and expires on August 7 next year. It urged consumers not to eat it, the statement said, which pointed out that the maximum level of Bacillus cereus in food must not exceed 100,000 per gram.
The product marketed as “廖孖記衛生腐乳王” made by “Liu Ma Kee Limited” is imported from Hong Kong.
According to the bureau, Bacillus cereus is commonly found in the environment. Unhygienic conditions in food processing and storage may give rise to its growth. Consuming food contaminated with excessive Bacillus cereus or its heat-stable toxins may cause gastrointestinal upset such as vomiting and diarrhoea.
The statement underlined the bureau’s commitment to tracing the circulation of the product in the local market through its inspectors.
According to the UK’s NHS website, Bacillus cereus toxin is responsible for approximately 2 to 5 percent of food poisoning episodes. 8 to 16 hours after ingestion of the toxin, symptoms of diarrhoea, gastrointestinal pain, nausea and vomiting occur. The symptoms are self-limiting. All food items can be contaminated. Bacillus cereus is ubiquitously present in soil and produces spores which enable it to survive extreme environmental conditions. Diarrhoeal faecal samples or samples taken shortly after the clearance of symptoms can be cultured for Bacillus cereus.
This undated file photo downloaded from the online shopping platform Shopee last night shows the Hong Kong-origin bottled preserved bean curd product that was found to contain excessive Bacillus cereus.
