The Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) continuously carries out food safety supervision and sampling tests to assess the consumption risks and hygiene conditions of food products available on the market. In the second quarter this year, a total of 537 food samples were randomly collected from the market in Macao for testing, with an overall pass rate of 99.8 per cent.

A total of 537 food samples were randomly collected in the second quarter, including 308 samples of general food products available on the market and 229 food samples from the food and beverage sector. The sampling locations covered restaurants, Chinese restaurants, food establishments, takeaway shops, supermarkets, frozen meat stores, grocery stores, cosmetics and drug stores, etc. in various districts of Macao. IAM carried out tests on the food samples concerned, including microbiological tests of common pathogenic bacteria such as Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, Bacillus cereus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa; chemical tests of heavy metals, prohibited substances, food additives and mycotoxins, among others.

Among the food samples, Pseudomonas aeruginosa in an amount exceeding the stipulated standards of microbiological substances in “GL 001 DSA 2018 General guidelines on hygiene quality of bottled drinking water” was detected in one sample of large-sized bottled drinking water produced locally. IAM previously followed up on the mentioned problematic case and requested the establishment concerned to stop selling the mentioned product, trace the source and flow of the products sold, contact the local supply and retail establishments, etc. IAM has also issued press releases to inform the public. No abnormalities were found in the tests results of the remaining 536 samples.

To prevent and reduce food safety risks, IAM reminds food operators that they are required to comply with “Food Safety Law” and the relevant laws and regulations in their business operations. IAM will continue to carry out food safety monitoring sample tests and hygiene inspection work of establishments. If any food safety risk is found, IAM will adopt prevention and control measures based on the risk level in accordance with “Food Safety Law”, such as confiscating or destroying the problematic food products, ordering establishments to suspend their businesses for improvement, etc. The results of the routine food surveillance for the second quarter of this year have been uploaded to the Food Safety Information website of IAM www.foodsafety.gov.mo for public reference.