Hairy crabs finally arrive in Hong Kong, but vendors aren’t happy
First batch of the year arrived in Hong Kong on Friday, but local authorities have told sellers to wait until more tests are completed before they go on sale
Local hairy crab vendors have cried foul over a request from authorities to withhold sales for at least 10 days, despite the first batch of crabs for the year arriving in the city on Friday.
Vendors worry the stock will die if they have to wait this long.
What’s behind the ban on hairy crabs from the mainland and what Hongkongers can do about it
But Hong Kong food inspectors have asked vendors to wait for up to two weeks until results of local tests are released before selling the stock.
The new arrangement was prompted by a food contamination scandal last year, where three samples of mainland crabs were found to have excessive levels of cancer-causing chemicals dioxin and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls.
Around 10 local sellers, who spent HK$200,000 collectively on the mainland supplies, were angered by the tightened safety measures and said all the crabs would have expired before the test results come out.
