A sample of Munchy's The Original Sugar Crackers has been found to contain 4 ppm (parts permillion) of melamine, which was above the legal limit of 2.5 ppm, Hong Kong's food safety watchdog said Tuesday.

The Center for Food Safety (CFS) said it tested 55 food samples, including milk, biscuits, cakes and pudding powder, in the latest batch of melamine test results.

Fifty-four of the tested samples were satisfactory, the center said.

The unsatisfactory sample was Munchy's The Original Sugar Crackers, with each big pack of the related products containing three small individual packs weighing a total of 380 grams. The expiry date for the sample was July 15, 2009.

"The level of melamine detected was 4 ppm," the center said in a statement.

Under the Harmful Substances in Food (Amendment) Regulation 2008 of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the legal limit for melamine is 2.5 ppm.

The center said it has informed the food trade of the test results, asked the food trade to stop selling the product and sent warning letters to the retailer and the importer concerned.

"The CFS will take out prosecution if there is sufficient evidence," a spokesman said.

(Xinhua News Agency October 22, 2008)