Hong Kong - Environmental, Food, Pharmaceutical

At ALS Hong Kong we provide a comprehensive list of food microbiological testing services for food manufacturers, traders, distributors, food and beverage caterers, and central kitchens.  ALS can provide a packaged solution to meet the requirements defined in the "Microbiological Guidelines for Ready-to-eat Food" (May 2007).  We are also capable of offering technical advice on the design of your microbiological monitoring program to meet the specific needs of different food establishments.

Microbiological quality determination

• Aerobic Plate Count
• E. coli
• Coliform
• Enterobacteriaceae

Pathogen detection

• Yeast & Molds
• Salmonella
• Staphylococcus aureus  
• Vibrio cholera
• Vibrio parahaemolyticus
• Listeria monocytogenes
• Bacillus cereus
• Clostridium perfringens
• Shigella
• Camphylobacter

Other microbial packages are offered for the products including Ice, Drinking water and Bottled water.

At ALS Hong Kong we are active in servicing the Food industry in Hong Kong and neighbouring Asian countries.  We provide a range of food analyses, including nutritional labelling, microbiological, contamination testing, and emergency contaminant testing such as melamine, malachite green, sudan red, nitrofurans and antibiotics. The Hong Kong government has introduced new subsidiary legislation to govern the pesticide residue levels allowed in food, to facilitate effective regulatory control and ultimately to protect public health.  At ALS Hong Kong we are equipped with the latest technologies and staffed with qualified and experienced professionals to provide a comprehensive Pesticide Residues Testing Service.

ALS Hong Kong is able to provide:

• HOKLAS-accredited Organochlorine (OC)
• Organophosphorus (OP)
• Pyrethroid
• Carbamate Pesticide testing services.

These comprise around 370 pesticide residues in the HOKLAS accredited list.

We have the knowledge and experience to provide screening tests as well as targeted analyte monitoring by using GCMS and LC-MSMS.  We will provide a reliable and fast turnaround time testing services to client.

Pesticide residue analysis is available to the below food items but not the least:

• Fruit and Vegetables
• Dried Fruit
• Cereals & grains
• Tea Leaves
• Health supplements
• Plant-related products

A detailed compound list will be provided upon request.

ALS Hong Kong has been providing testing services of PCR tests as follows:

• Qualitative GMO testing is now available in a more convenient and affectable manner.  Our testing method is sensitive and reliable to an operational limit of 0.1%. 
• For Species Identification, species-specific DNA sequences of specific animals and fungi can be tested.  The molecular approach is ultilised to identify species that include common edible animals, pork, cow, cordyceps sinensis, etc.
• Avian Influenza Virus (AIV) in poultry and poultry products can be easily tested using Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) in the different kinds of food products.
• Norovirus analysis is performed by RNA extraction, followed by Gel-Based PCR for the presence of Norovirus Genogroups I and II.

Hong Kong food regulations relating to nutrition label offer consumers a new perspective on food product selection.  They challenge industry with servicing consumers who have an increasing awareness of proper diet and food nutrition. ALS offers accurate and reliable analysis for the customers on nutrition label and the nutrient contents.

Our most popular nutritional tests:

Hong Kong Nutrition Label tests include:

• Energy
• Carbohydrates
• Protein
• Total Fat
• Saturated Fat
• Trans Fat
• Sugar
• Sodium

USA Nutrition Label tests include:

• Energy
• Carbohydrates
• Protein
• Total Fat
• Saturated Fat
• Trans Fat
• Sugar
• Sodium
• Calcium
• Iron
• Cholesterol
• Vitamin D
• Potassium

Label and Ingredient Review

Substances which can contaminate foodstuffs include inorganic matters such as heavy metals, industrial plasticizers which have been transferred from packaging materials, or organic compounds like Melamine or synthetic antibiotics. ALS can provide a wide range of testing including Heavy Metals Residues, Mycotoxins, and Veterinary Drug Residues.

Specialist contaminant analysis includes:

• Veterinary Drug Residues 
• Malachite Green & Leuco Malachite Green
• Nitrofuran Metabolites
• Fluoroquinolones
• Chloramphenicol 
• Harmful Substances
• Melamine
• Dicyandiamide
• Benzo(a)pyrene
• 4-methylimidizole
• Mycotoxins
• Aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, G2
• Phthalates 
• Dimethyl phthalate (DMP)
• Diethyl phthalate (DEP)
• Di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP)
• Butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP)
• Bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP)
• Di-n-octyl phthalate (DNOP)
• Di-iso-nonylphthalate (DINP)
• Di-iso-decylphthalate (DIDP)
• Heavy  Metals
• Arsenic
• Antimony
• Boron
• Cadmium
• Chromium
• Copper
• Lead
• Mercury
• Tin
• Zinc 

At ALS Hong Kong we have an established reputation to provide analytical testing services for additives and minerals.  Customers will receive fast and accurate testing results on their products.  We offer a comprehensive range of HOKLAS accredited tests, through the use of scientific equipment such as HPLC, LCMS-MS, UPLC and ICP-OES.

Any food manufactured, imported or sold in Hong Kong should comply to the Hong Kong Regulation under Preservatives of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance, Chapter 132BD with regards to the positive list of permitted preservatives as well as the maximum permitted level for specific food products as stated in Schedule 1 of the Regulation. We can provide a range of tests to satisfy regulatory requirements.

We also provide a number of additives and mineral tests to meet clients’ needs. 

Additives tests include: 

• Preservatives 
• Sulphur dioxide 
• Sodium Nitrate
• Sodium Nitrite 
• Benzoic acid 
• Sorbic acid
• Salicylic acid 
• Parabens
• Propionic acid
• Boric acid
• BHT
• BHA
• TBHQ
• Propyl gallate
• EDTA 
• Food Colourants
• Sudan Red I, II, III, IV
• Red 2G
• Rhodamine B
• Orange II
• Yellow 2G
• Sunset Yellow
• Tartrazine

ALS Hong Kong can provide a wide range of sampling, testing and consulting services in Proprietary Chinese Medicine (pCm) Testing. The business has the resources, facilities and capabilities to carry out safety tests, stability tests and drug tests.

The laboratory’s staff are extensively trained and committed to provide professional testing services to clients. The testing methods are set up in accordance to Pharmacopoeia of the People Republic of China (CP), British Pharmacopeia (BP) standard testing methods. 

Testing services include:

• Proprietary Chinese Medicine (pCm) - Testing based on international methods of:
  • British Pharmacopeia
  • Pharmacopoeia of the People Republic of China

• Heavy metals and toxic elements
• Microbial limit
• Pesticide residues

• Size of granules
• Determination of water
• Determination of dispersibility 
• Hardness
• Packing variation
• Weight variation
• Disintegration test
• Hardness (friability)
• Dissolution rate
• Relative density
• Insoluble materials
• Filling
• pH value
• Adhesion test
• Excipient property
• Tension
• Identification
• Assay
• Analysis for General, Real-time and Accelerated stability tests

• Siburamine
• Phenolphthalein
• Sildenafil
• Vardenafil
• Tadalafil
• Glibenclamide
• Diclofenac
• Paracetamol

ALS are able to offer an extensive range of client solutions, with one of the largest environmental laboratory networks in Asia. Comprehensive analytical and project capabilities are available in China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. 

With a geographically and technically diverse service offering, a highly skilled and motivated management and technical team, and a commitment to client services, we are positioned to provide superior analytical outcomes for your environmental project needs.

ALS Hong Kong provides a full range of environmental analytical testing services, specialising in the analysis of soil, sediment, water (raw, waste, drinking, catchment, recycled, saline, product), leachates, dust, air, gas (indoor, stack, ambient), biota, industrial hygiene, and radiochemistry. Equipped with the latest technologies and staffed with qualified and experienced professionals, ALS Hong Kong takes pride in providing Service Excellence and Quality across our diverse offerings to our Environmental client base.

Water and wastewater testing:

• Physical Testing
  • pH, Turbidity, Conductivity, Colour, Suspended solids, Total Solids, Total dissolved solids
• Inorganic Testing: 
  • Ammonia, Nitrate and Nitrite, TKN, Total Nitrogen, Reactive Phosphorus, Total Phosphorus, Cyanide, Total and Free Residual Chlorine and Silica
• Organic Constituent Testing:
  • BOD, COD, Oil and grease, Total Surfactants, Total Phenols and Volatile acid
  • Organic Testing 
  • VOCs and SVOCs
  • Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon
  • Pesticides and Herbicide
  • PCBs
  • Acrylamide
  • Haloacetic acid
• Heavy Metals and Mineral Testing
  • RCRA & USEPA Priority Pollutant Metals
• Water Testing Schemes
  • Cleaning & Disinfection of Fresh Water Inside Services
  • Swimming Pools Water Quality (Regulation, Cap. 132CA, Section 10)
  • Quality Water Recognition Scheme for Building (Plus)

• Risk Based Remediation Goal in soil and groundwater 
  • Heavy Metals
  • SVOC
  • VOC
  • PCBs
  • Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon
  • Free Cyanide
  • TBTO
  • Dioxin
• ETWB No. 34/2002 in sediment
  
  • Heavy Metals 
  • PAHs, PCBs, TBT – Interstitial water
• Toxicity testing 
  • 10 days amphipod survival test
  • 20 day polychaete Growth and Survival test
  • 48-60 hour Bivalve Larvae Survival and Normality

• Compost Testing (Hong Kong Organic Resource Centre)
  • Ammonia
  • Oxygen Uptake Rate
  • C/N Ratio
  • Impurities
  • Heavy Metals
  • Nutrient N, P, K
  • Pathogen
  • Seed Germination Index
• Fabricated Soil Testing
  • Particle size distribution
  • pH Value
  • Organic matter
  • Nitrogen Content

• Water Testing
  • Heterotrophic plate count
  • Yeast and Mold count
  • E. coli
  • Total coliform
  • Legionella testing (ISO and AS/NZS Method)
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa
  • Sulphate reducing bacteria
  • Staphylococcus aureus
  • Vibrio cholera
  • Vibrio parahaemolyticus
• Environmental Swab
• Airborne bacteria and fungi count

• On-site sampling
• Dioxins and Furans
• TSP and RSP (PM10 and PM2.5) 
• Heavy Metals
• Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC)
• SO₂, NO_X, CO, CO₂ and O₂

• Industrial Hygiene (IH)
• Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)
• TSP and RSP measurement
• Noise Measurement
• Odour Patrol and Survey Services

• Olfactometry sampling and analysis in water and ambient air
• Odour Patrol and Survey Services