SINGAPORE: The Republic of Singapore is not affected by the rotten meat scandal that has hit world’s biggest exporter of meat and poultry, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) said on Monday (March 20), reassuring consumers that imported meat and meat products from Brazil are safe for consumption.
None of the 21 meat-processing establishments placed by the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply under a special surveillance regime are approved to export to Singapore, the authority said in a statement.
On Friday, Brazilian police revealed that a two-year probe found that major meatpackers had bribed 33 health inspectors to keep rotten meat on the market, with earlier media reports stating that some of the bad meat was exported to Europe.
Although NTUC FairPrice had earlier said it imports poultry from two suppliers investigated by the Brazilian authorities, none of the affected establishments which packed the meat exported its tainted products to Singapore. The two holding companies under investigation are BRF, which owns the Sadia and Perdigao brands, and JBS, owner of Big Frango and Swift brands.
The AVA also reassured the public that it has a two-level accreditation process, which assesses the robustness of an exporting country’s national animal health and food safety, as well as the authorities’ power to enforce food safety requirements.
Brazilian ambassador to Singapore Flávio Damico also told TODAY that meat from his country is safe for consumption. He said, of a total of 4,837 meat-processing facilities, only 21 were targeted, and none of these export to Singapore.
He added: “The scope of the investigations is fairly limited, focusing on the actions of 33 individuals mainly – 33 out of 11,000 civil servants.”
