It's Mid-Autumn Festival: hairy crabs, wax burning - and warnings
Anti-smuggling measures were stepped up yesterday on hairy crabs on the eve of the Mid- Autumn Festival amid reports suggesting crabs from a famous mainland lake could be contaminated with arsenic.
Shenzhen authorities announced yesterday that all hairy crabs supplied to Hong Kong must be packed and sealed. Individual couriers also have been forbidden from bringing in the winter delicacy through the Lowu checkpoint.
This came as mainland customs seized about 1,140kg of smuggled crabs at Lowu on Thursday, Shenzhen Economics Daily reported yesterday.
The types of crabs seized included hairy crabs and soft-shelled crabs. They were found in 57 20kg boxes carried by more than 20 people at the Hong Kong and Macau departure channel. The newspaper said the smuggled crabs were not labelled and had no inspection certificates. It was not known where they originated.
Food inspectors began testing mainland hairy crabs in Hong Kong earlier this month after a Taiwanese report that a crab sample on the island contained an antibiotic, chloramphenicol, that can cause liver damage.
A Food and Environmental Hygiene Department spokeswoman said results would be announced as soon as they were available.