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The Agri-food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) has given the all-clear for fa cai or black moss available in the local market. These products, it said, meet local safety requirements stipulated under current Food Regulations.
Its comments come a day after Hong Kong researchers called for a ban on the black hair-like sea moss that is a commonly eaten during Chinese New Year for luck because its name sounds the same as "prosperity" in Mandarin.
On Monday, the team from the Chinese University's department of biochemistry cited international research to claim that the algae has no nutritional value and contains a toxic amino acid that could lead to degenerative nerve diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and dementia, because it contains a toxic amino acid called Beta Methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA).
But an AVA spokesperson told TODAY that the link between these neurological diseases and the amino acid has not been established. Exposure to BMAA through dietary intake of fa cai has also not been proved.
"These findings still need to be verified and confirmed by further research and review," he said, adding that the consumption of fa cai locally is extremely low and not a cause for concern. But the AVA will still closely monitor international developments in safety research studies on fa cai, and will take the appropriate actions to safeguard public health when necessary.
Since 2000, China has banned all exports of black moss after listing it as an endangered species but Hong Kong has yet to ban the sale of black moss. Over-harvesting of black moss — which grows in the arid and semi-arid Mongolian Gobi Desert and Qinghai plateau — has led to widespread erosion and desertification of large areas in northern China. - TODAY/sh
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