Singapore's Imported Beef Products

Mr Yee Jenn Jong asked the Minister for National Development (a) what are the major sources of Singapore's imported beef products; (b) how much of our beef products are from Europe; and (c) what measures does AVA have in place to ensure that tainted beef products in Europe do not find their way into Singapore.

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Mdm Speaker, we import 80% of beef and beef products from Australia, New Zealand and Brazil. Beef from Europe, in the form of whole beef cuts, constitutes less than 0.5% of our supply.

AVA has an integrated meat safety system of accreditation and post arrival inspections to ensure compliance with our food safety, veterinary public health and animal health requirements.

First, only meat imports from sources accredited by AVA are allowed into Singapore. In 1996, AVA imposed restrictions on import of beef from Europe when the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) or Mad Cow Disease broke out there. Since 2010, AVA has approved some European countries such as France, Ireland and the Netherlands, to export whole beef cuts to Singapore, only whole beef cuts. These countries are subject to additional requirements to mitigate against risks of BSE. Processed beef products from Europe are not approved for import. They include minced and canned beef, and those food items involved in the current horsemeat scandal.

Second, AVA inspects and tests meat imports before they are released for sale in Singapore. AVA regularly conducts tests to ensure that our meat imports are not substituted or adulterated with undeclared meat from other animal species. To date, AVA's testing has not found any horse meat adulteration in meat imported into Singapore.