The Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) urged the public in a statement yesterday to cease consumption of dried lily bulbs found to contain excessive levels of cadmium, underlining that the retailers involved have been ordered to stop selling the problematic product.
The statement said that the bureau was informed by the Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety about the health hazard.
According the statement, the bags of dried lily bulbs weighing 303 grams were sold locally of the JEBN (樓上) brand from Hong Kong, labelled “best before 30 NOV 2026”, which have been found to contain 0.53 parts per million of heavy metal cadmium. The statement underlined that the amount exceeds the legal limits.
In the statement, the bureau pointed out that cadmium is a heavy metal contaminant, and long-term intake can lead to chronic poisoning, causing damage to kidney function in humans. Based on an analysis of the cadmium levels detected in the affected sample, under normal consumption conditions, the likelihood of adverse health effects from the product is low, the bureau said.
Local ‘salad’ product found to contain Listeria
Meanwhile, the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) also announced in a separate statement that Listeria has been detected in “salad” product samples.
The statement said that through a routine food sampling, an octopus salad sample taken from the “3 Sardines” (三沙丁) Portuguese Restaurant on Rua de S. Roque (聖祿杞街) was found to contain Listeria monocytogenes at a level classified as “unsatisfactory.”
The bureau has ordered the eatery to cease selling the problematic products, rectify its production and handling procedures, and thoroughly clean and disinfect all equipment and utensils, the statement said, adding that the sale of the product may only be resumed after passing a follow-up inspection and re-testing.
The statement also said that the person in charge has also been required to arrange for the restaurant’s employees to attend the bureau’s “Food Hygiene Supervision Course” to strengthen their awareness of hygiene practices.
According to Hong Kong’s Centre for Health Protection (CHP), listeriosis is caused by the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes which is commonly found in the natural environment. The bacteria may be found in some contaminated raw foods, such as vegetables and uncooked meats as well as unpasteurised milk.
A person with listeriosis usually comes down with fever, headache, and sometimes gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. Some patients may develop severe complications such as meningoencephalitis or septicaemia (blood poisoning). Pregnant women, newborns/infants, the elderly and persons with chronic diseases or weakened immunity are at higher risk of being infected. Although pregnant women with listeriosis are mostly asymptomatic or only develop mild symptoms, they may transmit the infection to their foetuses or newborns, resulting in miscarriage, stillbirth, preterm birth and septicaemia or meningitis in newborns.
This undated handout provided by the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) yesterday shows an octopus salad sample found to contain Listeria.
