ParknShop faces prosecution over selling oilfish mislabelled as cod

Food safety officials have not ruled out more prosecutions against other shops that sold oilfish mislabelled as cod after ParknShop was served two summonses yesterday.

Public concern was sparked in January when at least 14 ParknShop customers suffered diarrhoea after eating the fish, which contains waxy deposits that some people cannot digest.

The Centre for Food Safety received more than 700 inquiries and complaints. ParknShop, Wellcome, frozen food shops and restaurants said they had unwittingly sold the oilfish as cod.

A spokesman yesterday said the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department had 'completed an investigation of a case'.

The summonses were served yesterday against A.S. Watson Group (HK) for contravening two sections of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance.

The two summonses relate to selling food 'which is not of the nature or quality of the food demanded by the purchaser' and a label 'calculated to mislead as to its nature, substance or quality'.

'This is the first prosecution. As the investigation is still ongoing, we would not rule out the possibility of future prosecutions,' the department spokesman said.