F e b r u a r y 200819th Issue Published by the Centre for Food Safety, Food and Environmental Hygiene Department

IN THIS ISSUE () Incident in Focus Cyanide Poisoning and Cassava Food Safety Platform Pesticide Residues in Food (Part I) Food Incident Highlight Methamidophos and Dumplings Scombroid Fish Poisoning Summary of Risk Communication Work

Incident in Focus

CyanidePoisoningandCassavaReportedbyMs.JoeyKWOK,ScientificOfficer, RiskCommunicationSection, CentreforFoodSafety

() TixanaAustraliaPtyLtd Piranha

Background On 14 January 2008, the Centre for Food Safety (CFS)advisedmembersofthepublictoavoidconsuming Piranha brand crackers and snacks manufactured by TixanaAustraliaPtyLtd.Theappealwasmadefollowing awarningissuedbytheFoodStandardsAustraliaNew Zealand (FSANZ) due to the higher-than-usual levels of naturally occurring cyanogenic glycosides in the ingredient cassava in a batch of exported vegetable crackers. The CFS contacted the relevant authorities and was informed that the affected products had been exportedtoHongKong.TheCFSalertedthetradetostop sellingtheaffectedproducts.

2 000 25 -

EDITORIAL BOARD

What are Cyanogenic Glycosides? Cyanogenic glycosides are a group of chemical compounds which occur naturally in over 2 000 plant species. There are at least 25 cyanogenic glycosides known to be found in the edible parts of plants. Cyanogenic glycosides alone are relatively non-toxic. However, as a result of enzymatic hydrolysis by betaglucosidasefollowingmacerationofplanttissuesasthey areeaten,orbythegutmicroflora,cyanogenicglycosides are broken down to release hydrogen cyanide which is toxictobothanimalsandhumans.Thepotentialtoxicity ofacyanogenicplantdependsprimarilyonitscapacity toproducehydrogencyanide.

()() () () () ()1 ()2 () () Editor-in-chief Dr. Y Y HOConsultant (Community Medicine) (Risk Assessment and Communication)

0.53.5

What are the Symptoms of Cyanide Poisoning? In humans, the clinical signs of acute cyanide intoxication include rapid respiration, drop in blood pressure,rapidpulse,dizziness,headache,stomachpain, vomiting, diarrhoea, mental confusion, twitching and convulsions.Deathduetocyanidepoisoningcanoccur when the cyanide level exceeds the limit an individual is able to detoxify. The acute lethal dose of hydrogen cyanideforhumansisreportedtobe0.5to3.5mgper kilogramofbodyweight.Childrenareparticularlyatrisk becauseoftheirsmallerbodysize. Chronic cyanide intoxication may lead to the development of certain conditions including disturbance of thyroid function and neurological disorders. It tends to affect those individuals who have regular long-term consumptionofcassavawithpoornutritionstatus.

Executive Editor Dr. Anne FUNGPrincipal Medical Officer (Risk Assessment and Communication)

Editing Members Dr. Tina MOK

Principal Medical Officer (Risk Management)

Dr. Shirley CHUK Mr. W C LEE

Senior Veterinary Officer (Veterinary Public Health) Senior Superintendent (Centre for Food Safety)1

What is Cassava? What is it Used for? Therootsofcassavaarerichincarbohydrates,mainly starch.AccordingtoFoodandAgricultureOrganization, cassavaisthethirdmostimportantsourceofcaloriesin thetropics,afterriceandcorn.Cassavaisconsumedina varietyofways,includingeatenaswholeroot,gratedroot orrootchips.Inaddition,itispreparedintoflourwhich inturncanbeusedforcookingorproductionofcassavabasedproductssuchasbreads,crackers,andpuddings orbeveragesmadewithtapiocapearls.Cassavaleaves

Mr. C W TAM Mr. F W LEE Dr. Y XIAO

Senior Superintendent (Centre for Food Safety)2 Senior Chemist (Food Chemistry) Food Safety Officer (Risk Assessment)

1

Incident in Focus

FoodSafetyFocus

February 2008

19th Issue

50 400 Pearlmilkteadrinkwithtapioca pearls

arealsoeateninsomecountriesfollowingextensiveboiling.Apartfrom being used as human food, cassava products are also used as animal feed.

Cassava

()

How should Cassava be Processed to Render it Safe for Consumption? Cassava contains more than one form of cyanogenic glycosides. Differentvarietiesofcassavaaregenerallyclassifiedintotwomaintypes: sweetcassavaandbittercassava.Sweetcassavarootscontainlessthan 50mgperkilogramhydrogencyanideonfreshweightbasis,whereas thatofthebittervarietymaycontainupto400mgperkilogram. Sweetcassavarootscangenerallybemadesafetoeatbypeeling and thorough cooking. However, bitter cassava roots require more extensive processing. One of the traditional ways to prepare bitter cassavarootsisbyfirstpeelingandgratingtheroots,andthenprolonged soaking of the gratings in water to allow leaching and fermentation to takeplace,followedbythoroughcookingtoreleasethevolatilehydrogen cyanidegas.Cuttingtherootsintosmallpieces,followedbysoakingand boilinginwaterisparticularlyeffectiveinreducingthecyanidecontentin cassava.Whilstfreshcassavarequirestraditionalmethodstoreduceits toxicity,adequatelyprocessedcassavaflourandcassava-basedproducts haveverylowcyanidecontentsandareconsideredsafetouse.

1. 2. 3.

1. 2.

What Other Edible Plants Contain Cyanogenic Glycosides? BambooshootisapopularfooditemamongAsianpopulation.The cyanogenic glycoside present in bamboo shoot is decomposed quickly inboilingwater.Otheredibleplantscontainingcyanogenicglycosides include kernels within the pits of some stone fruits (e.g. bitter apricot kernels),limabeans,etc.

Advice to Consumers1. Buyfoodfromreliablesuppliers. 2. Prepare cyanogenic plants such as cassava and bamboo shoot properlybeforeconsumption.Cyanogenicplantsshouldbecutinto smaller pieces, soaked in water and cooked thoroughly in boiling water. 3. Maintain a balanced diet to avoid excessive exposure to harmful chemicalsfromasmallrangeoffooditems.

Advice to the Trade1. Sourcefoodandingredientsfromreliablesources. 2. AdheretotheGoodManufacturingPracticetominimisetheriskof naturaltoxinsinfood.

Further Information Further information about natural toxins can be obtained from the followingwebpages: CFSRiskAssessmentStudyReportonNaturalToxinsinFood Plants CFSRiskinBriefonNaturallyOccurringToxinsinVegetables andFruits

Bambooshoot

2

FoodSafetyFocus

February 2008

19th Issue

()FoodSafety Platform

PesticideResiduesinFood(PartI)ReportedbyDr.JohnLUM,ScientificOfficer, RiskAssessmentSection, CentreforFoodSafety

()

From time to time, we hear different reports on pesticide residues in food and their adverse effects on human health. However, do we really KNOW pesticides? In the coming three issues, this column will have a closerlookatpesticidesfromtheiroriginstosafetyevaluationandsetting ofpermittedlevelsinfood.

( )

Many Things around Us are Pesticides In broad sense, pesticide is any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating pest. Any livingorganismsthatarenotwantedbecauseoftheirdamagetocropsor properties, or affect human or other animal health could be regarded as pests.Pesticidesarecommonlyusedtotreatthesepestsandtheirpresence is ubiquitous. Few people have not applied domestic pesticides such as cockroachspraysathome. Some pesticides are specifically developed to control pests in food production,especiallyduringcropsgrowing.Classesofpesticidescommonly used in crops growing include insecticides (to control insect infestations), fungicides (to control the spread of fungal diseases) and herbicides (to control the competing effects of weeds). In this article, we will focus on pesticidesusedinfoodproduction.

A Brief Histor y of Pesticides searlyasaround1000BC,peoplehave A used different chemicals (e.g. sulphur) as pesticides. Advances in chemical science and the adoption of intensive farming practice have led to the development of more effective chemical pesticides. Chemical pesticides were, at one stage, championed as humans success over nature. But pesticide resistance, damage to the environment and adverse effects on human health have overshadowed their subsequentuse.Withmorestringentcontrol on pesticides, pesticides have apparently foundtheirplaceintheagriculturalsystem. Twoimportantclassesofchemicalpesticides, organophosphateandorganochlorine,with foodsafetyconcernsaredetailedbelow: Organophosphate (OP) pesticides OP pesticides are insecticides act by affecting the nervous system of insects through disrupting the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Many OP pesticides are also acutely toxic to animals, mainly by affecting the nervous systems. Methamidophos, which has caused acute food-poisoning cases in human,isanOPpesticide.TheuseofmethamidophosandmanyOP pesticideshasbeenstoppedinmanycountriesduetotheirpotential adverseeffectsinhuman. Organochlorine (OC) pesticides One of the most well-known OC pesticides is DDT. DDT is a broad-spectrum insecticide invented in the1940sandquicklybecamethemostwidelyusedpesticideinthe world.However,DDTpersistsintheenvironmentandwasfoundto affect reproduction and development in a number of animalspecies inthe1960s.Sincethen,DDTwasnotpermittedtobeusedinmany countries.

Applicationofpesticidesincropproduction

()

Althoughmostofthecommonlyusedpesticidesaresyntheticchemicals, biopesticides have gained their popularity in recent years, as a result of increasing popularity for organic products. Biopesticides are pesticides derivedfromnaturalmaterialssuchasanimals,plantsandbacteria.The mostwell-knownbiopesticidecomesfromthebacteriaBacillusthuringiensis (Bt).

Pesticide Residues in Food the Wrong Item in the Wrong Place? The proper use of pesticides could improve the quantity and quality of food. The days that farmers found half of their crops being eaten up bywormsmighthavebeengone!However,theuseofpesticidesinfood productionwouldinevitablyleavesomeresiduesinsomeoftheproducts. Risk to human health could be reduced with proper usage of pesticides. Althoughmostofthepesticidesareusedduringcropsgrowing(pre-harvest),

3

FoodSafetyFocus () ( )

February 2008

19th Issue

FoodSafety Platform

pesticides could also be applied during storage and transport of the crops(post-harvest).Moreover,foodanimalsmayaccumulatepesticide residues in their body through the consumption of feed containing pesticideresidues. Pesticidesthatarenotappliedintentionallyduringfoodproduction mayalsocauseresidualproblems.Somepesticidesarepersistentin theenvironmentandtracesofthemmaycontaminateourfood. The next issue of Food Safety Platform will cover the safety of pesticides.Donotmissit!

FoodIncident Highlight

Methamidophos and Dumplings In late January 2008, local media reported on a food incident concerningfrozendumplingsthatweresuspectedtobecontaminatedwith thepesticidemethamidophosinJapan.Asproductsfromthesamesource wereavailablelocally,theywerevoluntarilyremovedfromsale. Methamidophosisanorganophosphoruspesticidethathadcauseda largenumberoffoodpoisoningcasesinHongKongwhenitwasabusedin vegetablesinthelaterpartofthelastcentury.Symptomsofmethamidophos poisoningincludevomiting,diarrhoea,abdominalpain,nausea,dizziness and numbness. In severe cases, people may have breathing difficulties, blurredvisionandconvulsion. WhensourcingvegetablesontheMainlandforexporttoHongKong, vegetable importers should acquire vegetables from registered farms and collecting/processingestablishments.Vegetablesshouldbewashedand preparedproperlybeforeconsumptioninordertominimisethechanceof pesticidefoodpoisoning.

(( ) ) ( ) 4 -18Mackerel

Scombroid Fish Poisoning The Centre for Health Protection announced on 25 January 2008 thattheywereinvestigatingascombroidfishpoisoningcase.Fivepeople consumedlunchsuppliedbyacatererandhalfto1.5hourslater,developed symptomsofscombroidfishpoisoning,whichincludedflushing,rapidheart beat,dizziness,vomitinganddiarrhoea.TheinvestigationsbytheCentre forFoodSafetyrevealedthatasampleofbutterfishfilletcontained1700 ppmofhistamine,whichwaswellabovetheactionlevelof200ppmsetby theCodexAlimentariusCommission. Certainfish,includingthoseofthe Scombroid family like tuna, mackerel, sardineandanchovy,containstheamino acidhistidinenaturally.Whenthefish are improperly stored, particularly soon after catch, certain bacteria will converthistidinepresentintohistamine. Consumption of such fish may cause food poisoning as cooking cannot destroyhistamine. People should purchase fish from reliablesourcesandstorefish,especially fish of the Scombroid family, at four degreeCelsiusorbelowforchilledfish and -18 degree Celsius or below for frozenfishtopreventspoilage.

Sardine

() Summary of Risk Communication Work (January 2008)

Number 64 136 177 379 58 13

/ Incidents/FoodSafetyCasesPublicEnquiries TradeEnquiries FoodComplaints

Summaryof

RiskCommunicationWork

/// EducationalSeminars/Lectures/Talks/Counselling NewMessagesPutontheCFSWebsite

4