CFS Urges Public Not to Consume Two Kinds of Bottled Olive Oil Products Due to Contamination Risks

CFS urges public not to consume two kinds of bottled olive oil products that may contain mineral oil

The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (August 11) urged the public not to consume two kinds of bottled olive oil products, as the products might contain mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH). For the sake of prudence, the CFS urged the public not to consume the products concerned, regardless of batches. The trade should stop using or selling the affected products immediately if they possess any of them.

The Centre for Food Safety, Photo source: reference image

Product details are as follows:

Brand: Olitalia

Product names: Olitalia Pomace Olive Oil 1L

Olitalia Pomace Olive Oil 5L

Distributor: Lorence & Company Limited

Place of packagingItaly

A spokesman for the CFS said, "The CFS proactively monitored through the Food Incident Surveillance System and noted an announcement issued by the Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain of Belgium indicating that the above-mentioned products were detected with mineral oil MOAH at levels exceeding the relevant standard. All batches of products concerned are being recalled in Belgium."

Preliminary investigation revealed that the distributor concerned had distributed the affected products. As a precautionary measure, the distributor has voluntarily stopped sales, removed the affected products from shelves and initiated a recall. Members of the public may call the distributor's hotline at 2293 9398 during office hours for enquiries about the recall.

According to the Mineral Oil in Food Regulations (Cap 132AR), no person shall sell for human consumption any article of food containing any mineral oil, unless the presence of mineral oil in any article of food is due to its use as a lubricant or greasing agent on some surface with which the article of food comes into contact in the course of its preparation (at levels not exceeding 0.2% by weight of the article of food).

The CFS has collected over 3 000 edible oil samples for chemical and microbiological testing from 2023 to July 2026, under its routine Food Surveillance Programme. Except for one unsatisfactory sample that was announced earlier in which it was found to contain metallic contaminant, the remaining samples were found to be satisfactory.

The CFS has contacted the Belgium authority over the incident and will continue to follow up on the incident and take appropriate action to safeguard food safety and public health. The investigation is ongoing.

Olitalia Pomace Olive Oil, Photo source: online image

TD alerts public to fraudulent vehicle airbag safety recall messages

The Transport Department (TD) today (November 14) alerted the public to fraudulent vehicle airbag safety recall messages purported to be from the TD. Members of the public should not fall prey to fraudulent government messages from unofficial means, nor provide any personal information. The case will be referred to the Police for follow-up.

A spokesman for the TD clarified that the department has no connection with the fraudulent letters or messages making unauthorised use of the department's name. At present, the TD only sets out safety recall information provided by authorised dealers of registered vehicle manufacturers on its website (www.td.gov.hk/en/public_services/vehicle_typeapp_examination/safety_recall/index.html). The TD does not issue letters to inform individual vehicle owners of safety recalls for their vehicles. The public should verify information to avoid falling into scam traps. For enquiries, they should contact the relevant authorised agents or dealers directly.

Members of the public should stay alert when receiving messages from unknown sources, and must not log in to suspicious websites or provide personal information. Anyone who has provided personal information as such should contact the Police. For enquiries, please call the TD's hotline at 2804 2600 or email tdenq@td.gov.hk.

Source: AI-found images