The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) yesterday reassured the public that both duck and chicken eggs containing Sudan dye have not been imported from Hubei and Hebei provinces, and people should not panic.

Last week, there was eggs scare in the market after duck eggs in Hebei and Hubei provinces produced by Shendan Healthy Food were found to have contained sudan, a cancer-causing dyeing substance.

Centre for Food Safety assistant director Thomas Chung said the level of the substance found in the eggs would not cause significant health risk.

"I would like to appeal to the public that there is no cause for undue concern about the health risks. Based on the information available, the level of sudan in those eggs will not cause health problems to those who consumed the eggs," he said.

Chung said the department had approached mainland authorities after the incident was revealed. It has been found that none of the products by Shendan Healthy Food were imported from the two provinces, he said.

"None of the products from that company were in Hong Kong. Hong Kong does import eggs from Hubei Province, but not from that company," he added.

Test proof

Chung said the department had tested 700 samples of egg products from last year to September, and found that none of them contained banned substance.

He said some duck eggs samples had been tested following the incident, and none of them were found to have contained sudan. The department also collected chicken eggs samples, but test results were yet to come.

It had also been alleged that chicken eggs found in Fuzhou also from the same company had also contained same substance.

Meanwhile, Shendan Healthy Food insisted that their products did not cause health hazards, saying they had not received mainland authorities report, and promised that they would recall the products from across the country, if those eggs were found to have cancer-causing substance.

However, Guangdong authority imposed a ban on the sales of such products.

Hong Kong Egg Merchants Association chairman Yeung Kam-yim said Hubei eggs were mainly supplied to restaurant.

Yeung said food companies on the mainland would collect eggs products from farms and send them to Hong Kong, and the association was not sure whether the products available in Hong Kong were from Shendan.

Yeung, however, said sales of Hubei eggs would be dropped by 10 to 20 per cent.

But the public said eggs from Hebei and Hubei were not popular, and did not react strongly to the incident.

Effect on businesses

In various food markets in Tin Hau and Causeway bays, some egg vendors said that they always sold eggs from Thailand and Malaysia only, as eggs from the mainland are of relatively low quality.

"They're mostly used by restaurants," said Chan Tsui, a 54-year-old egg vendor. "My business hasn't been affected, since most regular customers know where I get my stocks."

A regular customer of the Aberdeen food market said he was not worried by the problem eggs, as he could distinguish the mainland eggs from the ones from overseas.

"The ones from the mainland are usually smaller and different in colour," said Wu Ka-ki, a 57-year-old customer.

There are also customers who prefer to buy eggs from supermarkets, where the countries of origin are mentioned on the packages.

While some of the egg packs were listed as "manufactured in China", it remains unknown which provinces they were from.

Eggs from Hebei, however, may find their way to local restaurants. The owner of a fast food restaurant in Aberdeen said that it was common among restaurants to buy eggs from Hubei and Hebei.

"They're tastier, though the ones from Hebei aren't particularly cheap," said Ng Siu-lung, a restaurant owner of 10 years.

"We've used them for several years now, especially in fry dishes," he added.

(HK Edition 11/21/2006 page2)