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Ron Hui issues a warning on the rice brands. Photo: Edward Wong

The rice brands that can damage your health

Three brands of rice imported from the mainland have been found to contain illegal amounts of the carcinogenic chemical element cadmium, the Consumer Council revealed yesterday.

Three brands of rice imported from the mainland have been found to contain illegal amounts of the carcinogenic chemical element cadmium, the Consumer Council revealed yesterday.

"If you consume this rice on a long-term basis, it can affect your kidneys and bladder," warned Professor Ron Hui Shu-yuen, a member of the Consumer Council's publicity and community relations committee.

The council said cadmium, a metal, is most dangerous when inhaled. When consumed in food, the risks are much smaller.

Under Hong Kong's Food Adulteration (Metallic Contamination) Regulations, the cadmium content of rice should not exceed 0.1 milligram per kilogram. When the council tested 44 brands of mainland rice, three were found to breach the limits.

Jin Feng Nian's Chang Xiang Yu Rice contained 0.223mg of cadmium in a kilogram of rice. It was imported from Nanchang city, Jiangxi province.

"If you eat three bowls of this kind of rice a day for a long period of time, it can harm your health," Hui said.

Two other samples from Guangdong's Heyuan city - Golden Way and Golden Wave's Tsang Shing Siu Mei Rice - contained 0.149mg and 0.143mg of cadmium per kilogram, respectively.

A ParknShop spokeswoman said all three brands had been taken off its shelves, while a Wellcome spokesman said its supermarkets did not sell them.

Council tests on 15 models of electric heater found two in serious breach of safety requirements. Hui explained that some parts of the heaters may overheat, posing a potential fire risk.

They are: Fortress model FCHI2012 (HK$399) and Sanwa model CRFH-2002 (HK$99).

Both models have been withdrawn from sale in Hong Kong and Hui said people who had already bought them should return them to the place of purchase.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: The rice brands that can damage your health
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