The Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) announced in a statement on Friday that it had suspended a tinned food import application.
According to the statement, the bureau, during import inspection and quarantine procedures, detected excessive levels of the veterinary drug residue sulfamethazine in a batch of tinned food samples that were transhipped to Macau via Hong Kong. The bureau underlined that the affected product did not enter the local market.
The statement said that the bureau has immediately suspended the import application for the involved product and notified the relevant Hong Kong authorities.
The bureau also urged any businesses or members of the public in possession of the affected product to immediately cease sales and consumption.
According to the statement, the affected product is named “MaLing” Shredded Pork and Preserved Vegetable, with a best before date of April 7, 2028, processing plant code 5000/01011, from the Chinese mainland, with a net weight of 240 grams. The sample was found to contain sulfamethazine at a level of 204 micrograms per kilogram, which exceeds the maximum residue limit for veterinary drugs in food as stipulated by Macau regulations, the statement said.
IAM explained that sulfamethazine is a sulphonamide antibacterial agent widely used in the animal husbandry industry, adding that the long-term excessive intake of sulphonamide drugs may cause allergic reactions and damage to the urinary system in humans.
This undated file photograph provided by the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) on Friday shows the problematic tinned food found to contain sulfamethoxazole exceeding the permitted residue limit.
