Liver-damaging aflatoxins found in peanut butter, with two brands exceeding EU limit

A Consumer Council’s test on 20 samples of peanut butter found that 60 percent of them contain aflatoxins, a substance that could damage liver function. The test also found the aflatoxin B1 levels of two samples exceeded the upper limit of European Union standards. 

The consumer watchdog said the two samples found with aflatoxin B1 levels exceeding the EU limit are Fuyuan’s Peanut Butter and YOWE’s Peanut Butter Creamy.

The two samples contained aflatoxin B1 at levels of 4.27μg and 2.01μg respectively, which exceeded the EU limit of 2.0μg. The total aflatoxins level of Fuyuan’s Peanut Butter of 4.94μg also exceeded the EU limit of 4.0μg.

The watchdog warned that aflatoxins could cause acute and chronic poisoning in animals and humans, and could lead to acute liver damage, cirrhosis, cancer and even death.

It said it has referred the information of the relevant samples to the Centre for Food Safety for follow-up.

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Gilly Wong Fung-han, the watchdog's chief executive, said the current legislation in Hong Kong stipulates that food should not contain more than 10 μg of aflatoxin per kilogram, yet the standards vary in different places.

She recommended that relevant departments take into account international trends and practices in different markets to further examine whether there is room for revision in the existing legislation, in order to strike a balance between consumer choices and health and safety needs.

At the same time, it should not deter manufacturers from entering the market due to overly stringent regulations, she added.