Three sausage samples detected with metabolite of veterinary drug

Nearly 90 percent of sausage samples were found high in sodium and 50 percent high in fat, while three samples were detected with the metabolite of veterinary drugs, Consumer Council said.

The Consumer Council tested 30 samples of sausages available on the market, including 20 chilled, 7 frozen and 3 ambient samples.

In the food safety test, two chilled and one frozen sample were detected with semicarbazide (SEM), a metabolite of the veterinary drug nitrofurazone (also known as nitrofural) banned in the Mainland, EU and USA. 

The detected amounts in the three samples, namely Yun Pin King honey cocktail sausage, alfresco Spicy Jalapeno with jalapeno's and roasted peppers Chicken Sausage - fully cooked, and Valley Chef Chicken Frank, were 4.0µg per kg, 6.1µg per kg and 14µg per kg respectively. Among which the frozen sample with the highest detected amount exceeded the EU’s reference point for action (1.0µg per kg) by 13 times. 

The test results of the samples have been referred to the Centre for Food Safety for follow-up. 

Despite over 90 percent (28 samples) qualifying as “high-protein” foods, close to 90 percent were high-sodium, while half were high-fat.

Two samples, Tulip cocktail skinless sausages and Meica Bockwurst Sausages in brine, were classified as a “source of protein” - no less than 10 percent of the Chinese Nutrient Reference Values for protein per 100g solid food sample, i.e. 6g/100g. The remaining 28 samples reached the “high-protein” food level - no less than 20 percent of the Chinese NRV for protein per 100g of solid food, i.e. 12g/100g - with protein contents ranging from 12.1g to 17.2g.

However, the detected sodium content varied considerably across the samples, with that per 100g ranging from 565mg to 1,280mg. Among them, 26 samples reached the level of “high-sodium” food - over 600mg sodium content per 100g solid food defined by the Centre for Food Safety, while none of them qualified as “low-sodium”.

The sausage sample with the highest sodium content was "HarvestCreek", which contained 1,280mg of sodium per 100g. The sample with the lowest sodium content was Dragon Island honey cocktail sausage, which contained 565mg per 100g.

In addition, 15 samples were “high-fat” foods - more than 20g total fat per 100g solid food, while none were “low-fat”. The highest fat content was TOPVALU Coarse-ground Pork Sausages (Coarsely Ground Wiener Sausages), which contained 35.6g of fat per 100g.

Consuming one link of the sausage (around 21.7g) would incur a total fat intake of 7.7g, amounting to around 11.7 percent and 18 percent of the Chinese Nutrition Society’s recommended daily total fat intake limit for the adult (66g) and the aforementioned 5-year-old girl (43g) respectively.

Two sausages samples were detected with carcinogenic and genotoxic Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), but did not exceed the EU limit. The presence of the contaminants might possibly be related to the smoking treatment of sausages.