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Elizabeth Cheung

A batch of fresh milk found to contain bacteria at 8,600 times the legal limit is being urgently recalled amid warnings people who drink it risk falling ill.
The shipment of Trappist Dairy fresh milk in 236-millilitre containers has a use-by date of August 22.
Doctors said people who consumed the milk were likely to develop stomach aches and start vomiting. In rare cases, people could become severely dehydrated, though the risk of death was low.
The Centre for Food Safety announced late on Friday that a sample of milk collected for routine testing had a total bacterial count of 260 million per ml - far exceeding the legal limit for pasteurised milk of 30,000 per ml.
"Total bacterial count exceeding the legal limit indicates unsatisfactory hygienic conditions, but does not mean it would lead to food poisoning," a spokesman for the centre said.
The milk tested came from a ParknShop store at Lok Fu Plaza.
The centre urged consumers not to drink milk from the batch, while retailers have been told to take it off the shelves. The centre is investigating the problem.
Yuen Long-based Trappist Dairy said it had withdrawn all of its 236ml products to ease public concern, and had asked retailers to collect the milk. A spokesman said the milk was handled in accordance with legal hygienic standards during production, storage and transport. The company is investigating the reason for the excess bacteria and will "take appropriate action".
ParknShop said it had withdrawn the batch concerned immediately. The store at Lok Fu Plaza was checked by the supermarket's quality assurance inspector, who found no problems with the cooling compartments or other batches of milk.
Microbiologists say failing to keep milk cool enough may cause bacteria to proliferate.
"Pasteurisation reduces commonly seen pathogens to a very low level but does not kill them all," said Dr Ho Pak-leung from the University of Hong Kong. "If the storage temperature is 10 degrees Celsius or above, growth speed of bacteria would be 10 to 20 times faster."
Infectious disease expert Dr Owen Tsang Tak-yin said taking in too much bacteria would lead to gastroenteritis - inflammation of the stomach and intestines.
"People might develop fever, diarrhoea and vomiting … for those with weaker immune system, dehydration is also possible," Tsang said.
He stressed, however, that bacteria was unlikely to cause severe complications.


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