Samples of mooncakes from a local hotel and a Hong Kong-based bakery were found to have excessive levels of a carcinogenic chemical, according to a statement released by the government on Friday.
The statement said that 8.43 microgrammes per kilo of the carcinogenic chemical aflatoxin B1 were found in a sample of mooncakes from Pousada Marina Infante, a 4-star hotel located in Cotai, while 7.48 microgrammes per kilo were found in a sample from Hang Heung Bakery in Hong Kong.
The statement was jointly released by the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM), Consumer Council (CC) and Health Bureau (SS).
The manufacturing date of the sample from Pousada Marina Infante is August 30, 2016 while the expiration date of the sample from Hang Heung Bakery in Hong Kong is October 15, 2016, according to the statement.
The statement said Macau’s regulations put the limit of aflatoxin B1 that can be present in food at five microgrammes per kilo. However, in Hong Kong the limit is 15 microgrammes per kilo.
Long-term consumption of aflatoxin may lead to liver cancer, the statement said.
According to Wikipedia, aflatoxins are poisonous and cancer-causing chemicals that are produced by certain molds which grow in soil, decaying vegetation, hay, and grains.
Urging residents not to eat the mooncakes, the statement also said the products had already been taken off the shelves.
However, Hang Heung Bakery said it would keep selling its products in Hong Kong because they had passed Hong Kong’s more lenient safety limits, according to a report by Radio Television Hong Kong.(Macau News / The Macau Post Daily)
