1/3 Of Vegetables Tested In Hong Kong Markets Contained Cadmium, Mercury @ Up To 94% Over Limits
Vegetable lovers are being warned that some popular food items could pose a health hazard after test samples were found to contain heavy metals.
Four of 12 samples of vegetables, mostly mainland-sourced, were found to contain the heavy metals cadmium and mercury, which can lead to kidney damage and brittle bones, tests commissioned by an advocacy group showed.
Dried shiitake mushroom had the highest level of cadmium, exceeding by 94 percent the SAR's maximum legal limit of 0.1 microgram per kilogram, according to Community Food Watch. Another shiitake sample was 17 percent over the limit. Watercress and dried bamboo fungus were also found to exceed the legal limits by 28 and 15 percent respectively.
Community Food Watch commissioned the Hong Kong Polytechnic University's department of applied biology and chemical technology to test 12 vegetable samples collected from wet markets in Hung Hom, Sham Shui Po and Yuen Long from March to April.
EDIT
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?we_cat=4&art_id=145726&sid=42332544&con_type=1&d_str=20140526&fc=10
