A trace amount of Sudan IV has been detected in a rice dumpling sample collected from a restaurant recently, Hong Kong's Center for Food Safety reported Tuesday.

The center's Principal Medical Officer Tina Mok said that 49 samples of rice dumpling, a traditional Chinese food popular during Dragon Boat Festival, were collected for chemical tests. Forty-eight were satisfactory and the remaining one was found to have contained Sudan IV at the level of 0.12 parts per million.

As the level of the chemical was low, normal consumption of the food product would not pose any health hazard, she said. But she urged people to buy glutinous rice dumplings from reliable, reputable retail outlets and avoid prolonged storage.

(Xinhua News Agency May 23, 2007)