Hong Kong recalls two imported Olitalia olive oils
On.cc · 2 SOURCESabout 1 hour ago2 MIN
Summary
Hong Kong’s Centre for Food Safety said on August 11 that two imported bottled olive oil products may contain mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons and that a local distributor had previously supplied the affected items. As a precaution, the distributor has stopped sales, removed the products from shelves and started a recall covering all batches concerned.
Key Points
- The affected products are Olitalia Pomace Olive Oil 1L and Olitalia Pomace Olive Oil 5L, both packed in Italy under the Olitalia brand.
- The local distributor is Yee Sang Foreign Trading Co Ltd, which has set up a recall enquiry hotline at 2293 9398 during office hours
- The Centre for Food Safety said it learned of the issue through its food incident surveillance system after Belgium’s Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain issued an alert.
- According to the alert, the products were found to contain mineral oil, namely aromatic hydrocarbons, at levels exceeding local standards in Belgium, where all batches are being recalled.
- From 2023 to July 2026, the centre tested more than 3,000 edible oil samples under its regular surveillance programme; apart from one earlier sample with metallic impurities, the rest passed.
Why It Matters
Consumers in Hong Kong are being advised not to consume any batch of the two products, while the trade should immediately stop using or selling them if they still hold stock. The case also triggers Hong Kong’s mineral oil rules, which prohibit the sale of food containing mineral oil except for limited lubricant contact during production not exceeding 0.2% by weight.