Food Safety Information

​IntroductionAflatoxins are one of the most common mycotoxins that contaminate crops and their products. It is also sometimes detected in peanuts, corn, cereals and other nuts, among which the contamination of grain and oil products from peanuts and corn is of greater c...

A severe and life-threatening food poisoning incident resulted from consumption of homemade cold wood ear mushroom was reported in recent months. Wood ear mushroom is a very common food ingredient in Chinese cuisine and is easily found in supermarkets and Chinese phar...

​Introduction In the past three months, through the food incident surveillance system, the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) has learnt that there have been several food safety incidents in Europe and America involving raw oysters contaminated with norovirus, resulting in ...

​IntroductionIn March 2023, the United States Food and Drug Administration announced that it was in the course ofinvestigationof a number of cases involving residents in many states suspected of hepatitis A infection due to consumption of frozen berry products. As a con...

​There were recent cases of Group B streptococcal infection in Hong Kong. The victims included fishmongers, restaurant cooks and the public. Subsequent investigations revealed that some of them had been exposed to freshwater fish before the onset of symptoms. With quite...

Staphylococcus aureus is a bacterium commonly found in the nasal cavity, pharynx, larynx, hair and skin of human but which does not cause any discomfort. It can also be found in large numbers in inflamed lesions or festered wounds. The bacterium grows under a tempera...

Autumn is the best time to enjoy Chinese mitten crabs. It is the season when these aquatic creatures fatten and are rich in buttery orange roe, which is delicious and loved by crab eaters. But owing to their habitats, they are susceptible to be contaminated with dioxins...

Autumn is the season for enjoying “Lap-mei”! “Lap-mei” (Chinese cured meat) is a type of traditional Chinese food that remains a “good choice for gifts and for one’s own consumption” until today. Chinese cured meat, cured sausages and cured duck are the common “Lap-m...

Cookies, sweet and flaky pastries, egg rolls…..are common bakery products on the market and the favourites of many people. Nevertheless, the results of food tests on many bakery products revealed that different chemical contaminants, including glycidol, were formed at ...

The food supply in Macao is mainly dependent on imports. In 2011, the Fukushima nuclear power plant occurred radionuclides leaking incident in Japan. Macao government has immediately taken measures to control the spread of risks from imported Japanese foods, including...

Oat milk, almond milk, soy milk… plant milk has become a popular beverage in recent years. However, some people may mistakenly think that “oat milk” is a mixture of oat and milk, and “almond milk” is a mixture of almonds and milk. In fact, plant milk does not contain mi...

People nowadays pay attention to health, and they feel more at ease when they see MSG-free labels on food packaging. Some restaurants put up “MSG-free soup” menu on walls to attract business. Why are people afraid of consuming food with MSG? What is MSG? First of all,...