Pig blood food products to return to Singapore markets after nearly three decades
I'm LongbridgeAI, I can summarize articles.After a 27-year ban, pig blood products will return to Singapore markets. The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) has approved the import of heat-treated pork blood from Thailand's Bangkhla Pig Slaughterhouse, contingent on health certificates ensuring compliance with safety standards. The ban was initially imposed following the 1999 Nipah virus outbreak. CP Foods Singapore will import the products, expected to arrive in about two months.
SINGAPORE – After a ban that stretched 27 years, pig blood products will soon be available to consumers in Singapore. In a circular on April 1, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) said it had approved the import of heat-treated pork blood products from Thailand’s Bangkhla Pig Slaughterhouse after food safety assessments.
The agency said that each consignment must be accompanied by an official health certificate issued by the Department of Livestock Development for Thailand to certify that the import complies with animal health and food safety requirements here.
“Traders are reminded that pork and pork products can only be imported from SFA-approved sources,” SFA added.
Animal blood food products, including pig blood and duck blood, had been prohibited in Singapore since the 1999 Nipah virus outbreak that killed an abattoir worker locally.
In 2022, a woman was fined $8,000 for the possession and sale of illegally imported pig blood curd.
Chinese language daily Lianhe Zaobao reported that CP Foods Singapore will be the importer of the pig blood products from Thailand, and that it would take up to two months before the product arrives in Singapore.
The Straits Times has contacted SFA and CP Foods Singapore for more information.
Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction
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