Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ9: Levels of metal contents in vegetables
Following is a question by the Hon Joseph Lee and a written reply by the
Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council
today (November 16):
Question :
It has been reported that the soil on almost 40 percent of the agricultural land
in the Pearl River Delta Region in the Mainland has been contaminated by heavy
metals. Thus, the vegetables from the Region for export to Hong Kong contain
high levels of lead and cadmium. In this connection, will the Government inform
this Council whether:
(a) it has adopted international safety standards or formulated safety standards
that are applicable to Hong Kong in order to monitor the level of heavy metal
contents in vegetables imported from the Mainland; if it has, of the types of
heavy metals, safety standards and the justifications for adopting the standards
concerned;
(b) the levels of heavy metal contents in various vegetables produced locally or
imported from the Mainland or abroad exceeded local safety standards, and the
highest, lowest and average levels of heavy metal contents in the vegetables
produced in and imported from various regions, as shown in the findings of the
sample tests conducted in the past year; and
(c) it has formulated measures to reduce the import of vegetables the heavy
metal contents of which are on the high side but do not exceed the safety
standards, and whether it has collected analytical data on the levels of metal
contents in the soil in which imported vegetables are grown, in order to reduce
the risk of excessive intake of harmful substances by the public through
vegetable consumption?
Reply :
Madam President,
(a) The Food Adulteration (Metallic Contamination) Regulations (Sub Leg. V) was
made under the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132) in
1983. The second schedule of the Regulations stipulates the maximum permitted
concentration of metal (including antimony, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead,
mercury and tin) in vegetables is shown in the Table.
We will also review the existing legislations from time to time and will amend
the legislation, where necessary, to enhance protection of public health having
regard to international standards.
(b) The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) implements a food
surveillance programme collecting food samples, including randomly collected
samples of vegetable for testing of chemicals at various levels including
import, wholesale and retail to ensure food available in Hong Kong is safe and
wholesome. Under the surveillance programme, the FEHD has sampled 114 samples of
vegetables for testing of metal from July 2004 to June 2005. Two samples
collected at import level and one sample collected at retail were found to
contain 0.12, 0.14 and 0.16 parts per million of cadmium, which are slightly in
excess of the maximum permitted level of 0.1 parts per million.
(c) Vegetables, either imported or locally produced, are permissible for sale if
they are in compliance with the requirements of the Hong Kong laws. According to
recent studies by the FEHD, dietary exposures to these heavy metals are within
the safe intake level. We do not have the data on the levels of metal contents
in the soil in which imported vegetables are grown. We consider that testing the
vegetables is a more direct and effective method.
Ends/Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Issued at HKT 12:49
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Attachment:
Table to LCQ9