The city may set a legal limit for a cancer-causing chemical found recently in cooking oil sold by local suppliers, the health minister says.
Secretary for Food and Health Dr Ko Wing-man told legislators yesterday that the government would consult an expert committee this month on whether to set legally binding safety standards.
It will consider a proposal to recall cooking oil found with more than 10 micrograms of Benzopyrene per kg.
Last month, the Centre for Food Safety found the carcinogen Benzopyrene in oil samples at levels higher than the safety limit set by the European Union of two micrograms per kilogram and even exceeding the mainland limit of 10 micrograms.
The centre's checks followed a media exposé which revealed some cooking oil sold to local restaurants had exceeded the limit.
There is no international safety limit on Benzopyrene in food under the Codex Alimentarius Commission, a UN body for protecting public health.
"The difficulty in setting a level for Benzopyrene is what level [would be] internationally recognised?" asked Dr Philip Ho Yuk-yin, consultant for the centre. "If the level is not set properly, other trading countries can complain to the World Trade Organisation. We need to be careful."