Authorities to follow up on plasticiser levels found in Hong Kong cooking oil and Chinese white wine
Three types of pork samples, which also tested relatively higher in levels of the additive, came from the same supermarket chain
Health officials on Friday played down safety concerns but called for better packaging after finding levels of plasticiser in food samples that warranted follow-up measures.
They said there were no health issues if normal portions of the affected food were consumed.
The Centre for Food Safety collected 317 samples from about 100 types of food and tested for seven types of plasticisers. Some 98 per cent of samples contained at least one type of plasticiser.
8 everyday products that could be harming you
While levels of plasticisers in most of the tested food samples were low, the amount in two cooking oil samples and two Chinese white wine samples were found to be beyond the centre’s actionable levels – the point at which risk assessments and follow-up action would be taken by authorities.
A sample of minced pork also contained comparatively higher levels, although it was within the centre’s standard.
Plasticisers are additives widely used to soften plastics. While the substances are common in the environment and may be found in food, excessive amounts can affect liver and kidney functions, according to experiments conducted on animals.
“Fatty foods and those with high alcohol content are more likely to [dissolve] and migrate [plasticisers] from plastic products to food,” said Arthur Yau Tin-chung, a scientific officer from the centre.
Among other results of the study, a sample of peanut oil was found to contain a type of plasticiser named DEHP at a level of 3,500 micrograms per kilogram. The amount for an olive pomace oil sample was 3,300mcg/kg. Findings in both samples were more than double the centre’s action level at 1,500mcg/kg.