Meat found laden with banned chemicals in Hong Kong

September 29th, 2010 - 7:59 pm ICT by IANS  

Hong Kong, Sep 29 (IANS) Hong Kong’s food safety watchdog Wednesday said meat sold in many shops was found laden with chemical preservatives forbidden under the region’s laws.

Pork, beef and mutton samples were collected for tests in July and August from provision shops and meat stalls, and the tests found that many of the samples contained sulphur dioxide, the Centre for Food Safety said.

Some samples were found to contain a veterinary drug residue chlortetracycline, while mercury, cadmium, veterinary drugs nitrofuran and malachite green were also found, Xinhua reported.

A spokesman said traders use sulphur dioxide to make the meat look fresh. Though the chemical is soluble in water and most of it can be removed through washing and cooking, people who are allergic to the preservative can fall ill from it.

The centre has issued warning letters to the shop operators concerned and also asked consumers to buy meat only from reliable stalls.

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