Good to eat: Food Safety  Centre Assistant Director Dr Constance Chan announces the latest food safety results.

The Centre for Food Safety tested 7,500 food samples in March and April with an overall pass rate of 99.2%. Only 57 failed the tests.

The centre's Assistant Director Dr Constance Chan said 48% were vegetables and fruit, 19% milk, milk products and frozen confections, 10% meat and poultry, 4% cereals and grains, 7% aquatic products and 12% other items.

The unsatisfactory cases comprised a scallop, 22 fish, and three meat product samples, previously announced by the centre. The remaining 31 include:

* a tangerine and four vegetable samples with pesticide exceeding the permitted level;

* a steamed dumpling, five pickled radish, 13 meat products, and two fish samples with preservatives exceeding the permitted level;

* a pork sample with non-permitted veterinary drug Clenbuterol;

* three aquatic products samples with excessive veterinary drug residues; and,

* a sample of rice with plain chicken and barbecue pork with pathogens that can cause gastrointestinal discomfort.

No serious breach

"Concerning the current round of food sample results announced, the exceedances or breaches were not serious and would not pose immediate health risks," Dr Chan said.

"We observe that quite a number of unsatisfactory samples were related to the use of excessive or non-permitted preservatives and veterinary drug residues or pesticide residues."

She reminded the food trade not to use preservatives in fresh meat. As for other foods, the trade should use only permitted food additives, follow good manufacturing practice and comply with legal requirements.

Regarding the unsatisfactory samples, the centre has taken follow-up action, including tracing the source of food in question, asking concerned retailers to stop selling and to dispose of those food items, taking follow-up samples and issuing warning letters. If there is sufficient evidence, prosecution action will be taken.