The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced on October 14, 2026, that a sample of a bun with fresh meat and preserved vegetable contained an excessive amount of Bacillus cereus. The sample, collected from a food factory in Kwun Tong, showed the bacteria at 250 000 per gram. Under the Microbiological Guidelines for Food, ready-to-eat food containing more than 100 000 per gram is considered unsatisfactory.

CFS staff visited the factory to investigate and informed it of the irregularity. The factory stopped selling and discarded the affected product on the CFS's instruction. The CFS also provided food safety and hygiene education to staff and asked for thorough cleaning and disinfection.

A CFS spokesman said Bacillus cereus is common in the environment and may grow under unhygienic processing and storage conditions. Eating food contaminated with excessive amounts of the bacteria or its heat-stable toxins may cause gastrointestinal upset such as vomiting and diarrhoea. Under section 54 of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132), all food for sale in Hong Kong, local or imported, must be fit for human consumption; conviction carries a maximum fine of $50,000 and six months' imprisonment. The CFS said its investigation is ongoing.