As African Swine Fever (ASF) infects pigs across the world, Singapore has unfortunately not been spared from the outbreak.
This is especially since we import much of our food, including pork, from overseas.
Now, pigs imported here from an island in Indonesia have been found to have ASF.
Source: Singapore Food Agency on Facebook
The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) has thus stopped the importation of pigs from this location.
In a trade circular on Thursday (20 Apr), SFA said the discovery was made the day before, on Wednesday (19 Apr).
It involved the discovery of ASF in an imported consignment of pigs from Pulau Bulan, an Indonesian island next to Batam.
Specifically, they were detected in pig carcasses removed from the abattoir line, SFA said in a media release on the same date.
Due to the detection, SFA has stopped importing live pigs from Pulau Bulan.
This will take effect while investigations are ongoing, the agency said.
Source: Diego San on Unsplash. Image for illustration purposes only
That means Singaporeans will experience “temporary disruptions” to the supply of freshly slaughtered pork from Sunday (23 Apr).
In the meantime, SFA will ensure the sanitisation of the abattoir’s premises and surrounding environment following the slaughter of the pigs that are currently there. The agency will also check on the maintenance of biosecurity measures.
To Singaporeans who may worry about food safety, SFA assured that the pork for sale in Singapore is safe for consumption.
Our import conditions for pork include requiring regions exporting raw pork to Singapore to be free from ASF.
Processed pork products from approved establishments in ASF-affected areas can be imported and sold only after they’ve undergone heat treatment to inactivate the virus.
These measures take reference from guidelines and standards the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) has set, SFA said.
ASF also doesn’t infect humans, they added.
As for whether Singaporeans will have enough pork to eat, SFA said just 15% of our pork supply is from Pulau Bulan.
We have over 20 other pork sources, including live pigs from Sarawak, Malaysia.
Singapore also obtains chilled or frozen pork from countries like Australia, Brazil, Denmark and New Zealand.
Source: Koh Poh Koon on Facebook
Dr Koh Poh Koon, Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment and Manpower, said in a Facebook post that he had visited FairPrice and saw “ample supplies” of chilled and frozen pork, as well as other meats like chicken and fish.
Thus, while disruptions in food supply “can happen from time to time”, he encouraged Singaporeans to be flexible and adaptable with our food choices.
He suggested switching to frozen or chilled pork, or other meat options.
Meanwhile, SFA has pledged to increase our supply of such pork products from other sources.
In early February, authorities detected ASF in a wild boar carcass in Singapore.
The next month, they detected more wild boars with the disease.
WOAH since reported that ASF has been detected in 18 wild boars in Singapore, of which 15 were carcasses.
The Philippines also banned pig products from Singapore.
Taiwan likewise imposed a similar ban on Singapore pork products in February.
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Featured image adapted from Singapore Food Agency on Facebook.
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