FOOD PRODUCTS IMPORTED FROM CHINA

FOOD PRODUCTS IMPORTED FROM CHINA:

(Safety): 7.

Mdm Cynthia Phua asked the Minister for National Development in light of the recent international concerns over China's food safety standards and AVA's recent rejection of some food products imported from China, whether (i) the food products that we import from China are safe; and (ii) there is a rising trend of rejection rate of food imports from China over the last three years.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for National Development (Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman) (for the Minister for National Development): Mr Speaker, Sir, AVA has put in place a comprehensive and integrated food safety system to ensure that food imported into Singapore, regardless of its source, is safe for consumption.

Food items that carry a higher risk of contamination are inspected more frequently. For example, all consignments of meat and meat products are subjected to physical inspection. Those from new or problematic sources are systematically sampled to test for foodborne pathogens, residues and contaminants.

Based on AVA's statistics from 2005 to 2007, the average rejection rate of each of the key food items imported from China, such as meat, seafood, vegetables,

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fruits and processed food, over the last three years was low. For some items such as seafood, the rejection rate of imports from China in 2007 was several times higher than that of other countries, although it was still within acceptable levels.

In the case of vegetables, fruits and processed foods, the rejection rates had declined over the years. There was, however, an increase in the rejection of meat, seafood and egg products from China in 2007. In particular, there was a sharp spike in the rejection of egg products. This was due to the detection of unapproved Sudan colours in salted and preserved eggs. Consequently, AVA introduced in July 2007, new certification and pre-export testing requirements for the import of salted and preserved eggs. This has effectively brought the problem under control.

Over the years, AVA has been engaging and working closely with counterpart agencies in China to improve the safety of China food imports. This has yielded positive results. For example, AVA's regular feedback to the Chinese authorities has led to improvements in the safety of vegetables imported from China.

Mr Speaker, Sir, as Singapore imports almost all of the food it consumes, ensuring the safety of imported food is of paramount importance. AVA will continue to remain vigilant and will intensify checks and controls where necessary.

Mdm Cynthia Phua: Sir, in view of the rising trend of this contaminated food from China, has AVA increased the percentage and range of products for sample audit?

Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman: Sir, as mentioned earlier, whenever we have information that there are risks involved, certainly AVA will step up its efforts at

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investigating as well as monitoring the sources, especially sources that are identified as higher risk. I assure the Member and Members of the House that AVA is on top of the situation in ensuring that all food supplies to Singapore are safe.