Food safety officials will begin conducting random checks on snack foods for the banned sweetener stevioside after the surveillance loophole was revealed by the scare over the suspected cancer-causing ingredient.
The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department said last night it had never tested imported food for the chemical - despite it being common in types of Japanese and mainland snacks popular here.
The new testing regime, involving random tests on popular snacks taken from shops, will start next month. Other banned sweeteners will also be tested for.
Eighteen products containing stevioside have been recalled since Tuesday, after a report from Singapore revealed its use.
The department conducted 950 tests on artificial sweeteners in food last year. However, it only tested for the substances listed on contents labels, and not for banned substances.
The department's director, Rita Lau Ng Wai-lan, yesterday agreed the department should be 'more sensitive' to the detection of substances allowed overseas but banned in Hong Kong.