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No need to hoard pork; ample supply in Singapore

Singapore has ample supply of pork and there is no need to hoard, said Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and the Environment Baey Yam Keng, after the country stopped the import of live pigs from Pulau Bulan in Indonesia due to African swine fever.

“Singapore imports pork from over 20 sources and there will be enough pork for our needs,” he said in a post on Facebook on Monday.

The issue “is not a food safety concern”, he added. “Consumers can be assured that pork sold in Singapore is safe for consumption.”

The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) announced last Thursday that it had halted the import of live pigs from Pulau Bulan, which accounts for about 15 per cent of Singapore’s total pork supply. This makes up about two-thirds of the country’s supply of freshly slaughtered pork.

African swine fever was discovered in a consignment of live pigs from the Indonesian island, which is near Batam.

The virus was detected in pig carcasses in an abattoir in Jurong, where the animals are slaughtered for food, SFA said. It is the first time the disease has been detected in pigs imported into Singapore, it added.

“There will be temporary disruptions to the supply of freshly slaughtered pork from Sunday (April 23),” SFA said.

The deadly swine disease is highly contagious among wild boars and pigs, but does not infect humans.

Mr Baey, who is also an MP for Tampines GRC, said that he had checked in with the pork sellers at Tampines N4 Neighbourhood Centre market on April 22.

“They are aware of this temporary disruption and are uncertain of what would happen when their suppliers run out of stocks in the coming days,” he said.

He added that a chicken seller, who went through the recent export ban of fresh chicken by Malaysia and had to switch to selling thawed chicken, reassured his fellow stallholders that they will be able to overcome this disruption.

Mr Baey suggested that consumers can turn to other sources of protein like chicken or fish, or consider chilled or frozen pork.

He said: “Even as we work towards our 30 by 30 Goal to have 30 per cent of our nutritional needs produced locally by 2030, we will face disruptions in our food supply from time to time.

“As consumers, we can build our own resilience by being flexible with our food choices.”

Import of live pigs from Pulau Bulan, Indonesia, has been stopped by Singapore Food Agency (SFA) pending investigation...

Posted by Baey Yam Keng 马炎庆 on Sunday, April 23, 2023
POLITICIANSSFA/SINGAPORE FOOD AGENCYporkanimals