Seafood supplier fined $16,000 for processing seafood in landed property
Seafood supplier 11th Street was fined $16,000 on Wednesday for illegally processing and storing seafood products in unlicensed premises.
On Oct 27, 2022, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) found an illegal seafood processing facility that was operating out of a landed residential property in 9 Toh Avenue, the agency said in a statement on Wednesday.
Investigations showed that the supplier had used the residential premises, which is near Changi Airport, to operate a processing establishment without a licence, SFA added.
Seafood items such as batang fish, red grouper fish and prawns weighing approximately 2.4 tonnes were seized.
“Illegal processing and storage of meat and fish at unlicensed facilities poses a food safety risk,” SFA said.
In Singapore, all processing and storage facilities for meat or fish products must be licensed, and have to meet SFA’s requirements and food safety standards, it added.
These licensed establishments are also routinely inspected by SFA.
Those who illegally process meat and fish may be fined up to $10,000, or jailed for up to 12 months, or both.
Offenders who possess meat or fish products stored in an unlicensed processing establishment may be fined up to $50,000, or jailed for up to two years, or both.
Those with information on such illegal activities can provide feedback at www.sfa.gov.sg/feedback
Separately, on Wednesday, Honesty Enterprise was fined $9,000 for illegally importing vegetables for sale, while its director Chan Jeng Kai was fined the same amount for failing to prevent the offence from being committed.
The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority and SFA said in a statement on Wednesday that they conducted joint operations targeting delivery trucks, which typically transport imported vegetables that are directly distributed to buyers.
Between June and October 2022, they found more than 230kg of undeclared and under-declared fresh vegetables by Honesty Enterprise, the statement added.
They also found 470kg of processed vegetables in the company’s consignments that did not have a valid import permit.
All vegetables, which were illegally imported from Malaysia, were seized.
“In Singapore, food imports must meet SFA’s requirements. Fruits and vegetables can only be imported by licensed importers, and every consignment must be declared and accompanied with a valid import permit,” the statement said.
It added that illegally imported vegetables are of unknown sources and can pose a food safety risk.
For example, there could be unregulated or high levels of pesticides used to grow vegetables. Eating such produce over a long period of time could lead to adverse health effects, the statement said.
Those who illegally import fresh fruits and vegetables may be fined up to $10,000, or jailed for up to three years, or both.
Those who illegally import processed fruits and vegetables may be fined up to $1,000. Repeat offenders may be fined up to $2,000.
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