Call for tougher dioxin limits after carcinogen found in hairy crabs exported to Hong Kong

An independent food safety researcher has called on authorities in the Chinese mainland to impose tough limits on dioxin contamination of water and soil, following the detection of the carcinogen in Jiangsu hairy crabs sold in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong’s Centre for Food Safety said on Tuesday it found excessive dioxin levels in two of five hairy crab samples from two mainland farms it tested. One sample had 11.7 picograms of the contaminant per gram and the other 40.3 picograms, well above the safe level of 6.5 picograms.

A Jiangsu quarantine bureau official said the bureau had suspended export clearances for the two farms and a task force had been set up to test water and product samples, Xinhua reported.

Sun Xingliang, director of the Wanqing crab farm in Wujiang, one of the two involved, said the crabs exported by his company were all tested for pesticide residue and heavy metals, but not dioxins.

“It’s the first time that my company’s product has been accused of dioxin contamination in 16 years of exporting. I have no idea what a dioxin is,” Sun said.