Hong Kong-based entrepreneur discovers new way to test for toxins

The melamine scandal on the mainland in 2008 saw six babies die and 300,000 fall ill after drinking milk powder tainted with an industrial chemical. That, along with the use of so-called gutter oil in food, has led to such distrust in mainland food companies that many families now seek out imported products, including some bought in Hong Kong.

Using a toxin-testing method involving fish embryos, Eric Chen Zixiang is working to restore that trust. Current food testing mechanisms, he says, only reveal around 30 per cent of toxins. Through his young firm, Vitargent (International) Biotechnology, Chen is bringing about a revolution in how food, cosmetics and other products are tested for toxins.

The ambitious former City University student, 27, actually studied engineering and marketing. It was during his student days that he first gained an interest in toxin technology.

Chen set up his firm at the Science Park in Sha Tin. It is benefiting from a four-year incubation programme run by the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, which provides a business network and a laboratory for participating firms.

"I was very proud of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games," Chen says. "But there were all these food scandals right after that," he says. "Contaminated milk powder which made thousands of babies sick. How come the only source of food for babies is so dangerous?

"There are more than 87,000 commercial chemicals now available," says Chen. "They get into our food through environmental pollution and intentionally and unintentionally through the acts of businesses."

Chen has been nominated by the Science Park for the Innovating for Good Award in this year's Spirit of Hong Kong Awards, organised by the South China Morning Post.