To commemorate a patriotic poet, Wat Yuen, of the Chu Kingdom who lived around 300 B.C., it is a Chinese tradition to eat glutinous rice dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival on the 5th day of the fifth month of the Lunar Calendar. The main ingredient of dumpling is glutinous rice, and stuffing to enhance favour of the dumpling include green bean, pork, salted egg, chestnut, mushroom, bean paste, etc. Glutinous rice dumplings are wrapped by lotus or bamboo leaves.
In the old days, families used to make glutinous rice dumplings themselves to celebrate the festival. Nowadays, fewer people are making glutinous rice dumplings at home due to busy city lives and tend to purchase glutinous rice dumplings. Therefore, glutinous rice dumplings are available for sale at restaurants, food shops or supermarkets.
In the past, some unscrupulous merchants added boric acid (an unpermitted preservative in food in Hong Kong) into glutinous rice dumplings to prolong their shelf life. The sale of glutinous rice dumplings containing boric acid contravenes the "Preservatives in Food Regulations" (Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance, Cap.132, subsidiary legislation BD). Upon conviction, offender shall be liable to a fine of $50,000 and imprisonment for 6 months.
There were recent news reports about the use of chemicals such as copper sulphate to brighten the green colour of leaves used for wrapping rice dumplings. There was no cause for undue alarm because copper is an essential element in humans. Copper sulphate can be used in food as a processing aid. It is soluble in water and can be removed during the food preparation process including washing, soaking and cooking. The health risk associated with copper in dumpling leaves is therefore unlikely to be significant.
Under the Food Surveillance Programme, health inspectors of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department take samples of glutinous rice dumpling from food premises for chemical and microbiological testing every year to ensure that glutinous rice dumplings sold in Hong Kong are safe for human consumption. In 2005, all samples taken for the above testing were found up to the required standards.
The public should pay attention to the following safety tips in purchasing and preparing glutinous rice dumplings:
Choose rice dumplings that are securely wrapped by bamboo leaves;
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Avoid buying rice dumplings with bright green bamboo leaves.
Preparation:
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Reheat the rice dumplings thoroughly for at least 15 minutes with the centre temperature at 75 degrees Celsius before consumption.
Consumption:
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Consume the purchased rice dumplings as soon as possible and avoid prolonged storage;
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During storage, keep the rice dumplings in the refrigerator at or below four degrees Celsius;
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Discard all leftover rice dumplings if they have been left at room temperature for more than two hours;
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Maintain a balanced diet and avoid over-eating rice dumplings with egg yolks and fatty pork. Take at least two servings of fruits and three servings of vegetables every day.
Last
revision date: 30-05-2006