Dangerous E. coli bacteria has been found on tableware disinfected by a Shenzhen company, the city's health authority said Friday (Aug 6).
Four samples taken from Pengfei Le'erkang Tableware Cleaning and Disinfection Center in Bao'an District were found to contain E. coli bacteria and one sample was found to contain excessive chemical residue, but the health authority refused to reveal the exact amounts found. The company has been ordered to suspend operations until it has rectified the situation.
The health authority tested samples from 37 licensed tableware disinfection companies in the city Friday. Samples from 10 companies failed to meet national standards for disinfected tableware as they contained excessive disinfectant residues.
The 10 companies were ordered to improve standards within a week, after which a second series of tests would be conducted. Companies failing the second test would be closed.
Of the 37 disinfection companies, 27 were in Bao'an and Longgang districts, 18 of which cleaned more than 10,000 sets of tableware each day.
One company, which the authority refused to name, was found in the basement of a residential building, and was among those that failed to meet hygiene standards. They were all ordered to immediately improve working conditions.
Disinfected tableware would be tested regularly and the results would be released at a later date, health officials said.
(By Wang Yuanyuan)
