Hongkongers are only too aware that a bargain-priced bowl of noodles with meat or seafood balls is not going to contain the highest-quality ingredients. If the price is especially low, they would not be surprised to find out that what is advertised as lobster, cuttlefish or beef is barely present, if at all. You get what you pay for, as the saying goes. The Consumer Council has largely confirmed that in testing 60 samples, revealing a marked disparity in what was claimed on some menus and packaging. But expectations of cost and value should not be a factor when it comes to food; with health, religious beliefs, transparency and honesty in mind, products and descriptions should always match.

None of the 10 lobster ball samples contained crustacean DNA, including one that listed the marine creature among the ingredients on packaging. Only two acknowledged their products were not genuine by labelling them “lobster-flavoured” and “imitation lobster”. Just three of the 10 pre-packaged cuttlefish balls tested contained cuttlefish DNA, the remainder comprising squid in ratios ranging from 55 per cent to 100 per cent. Depending on price, many local shoppers or diners could probably have made a reasonably accurate guess about such facts.

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But it is the council’s analysis of 20 meat ball samples that is perhaps the most eye-opening. Only seven were found to contain 100 per cent cow DNA, the remainder also comprising pork or chicken. In one, at a restaurant, the beef content was just 13 per cent. Like lobster, some people consider beef a luxury, so such a paltry percentage is acceptable if the price is low. But for people whose health or religion is a consideration when buying food, mislabelling is harmful.