Recommendations for food businesses when exporting to Singapore

On 15 March, about 1,240kg of illegally imported meat, processed meat and seafood products were seized in an unlicensed cold store at Woodlands Close. Photo SFA

HÀ NỘI The Ministry of Industry and Trade said that according to a press release from the Singapore Food Agency (SFA), the private company Viet-Sin Grocery, registered for business in Singapore since 2020, has been fined SGD$36,000 on the grounds of illegally operating two cold storage warehouses and illegally importing some meat and seafood products from Việt Nam.

Specifically, SFA’s report said that Viet-Sin Grocery company violated the cold storage operation three times and illegally imported several meat and seafood products from Việt Nam.

On April 26, 2022, SFA officers found about 1,784 kilos (kg) of meat, processed meat and seafood products stored in an unlicensed cold store at Gambas Crescent.

On March 15 this year, SFA officers found another cold store that was operating without a license at Woodlands Close, which stored about 1,240kg of meat, processed meat and seafood products. Both cold stores were operated by Viet-Sin Grocery.

Most recently, SFA found about 37kg of assorted meat products in a grocery shop at Woodlands St 31 operated by Viet-Sin Grocery on November 1.

On all three occasions, the products were imported from Việt Nam without a valid import licence and were from unaccredited sources. The products were seized by SFA.

According to Singapore regulations, businesses in Singapore that import food must meet the requirements of the SFA and must be licensed by a competent authority. Each shipment must be declared and accompanied by a valid import license.

Furthermore, Singapore is a market with high and strict requirements on food hygiene and safety. The production, import, and trading of food are strictly managed by the Singaporean government and must comply with the 2002 Food Business Law, a number of articles of which were amended on December 7, 2017, including regulations on food, environment, and public health

In addition to the requirements for product quality, especially for food products, Singaporean consumers are also very sensitive to information relating to food hygiene and clear and transparent origin and legal compliance of businesses.

Cases like the Viet-Sin Grocery company can negatively affect Singapore consumers’ purchasing choices for Vietnamese food products in general and create a bad reputation for businesses exporting Vietnamese products in particular.

Vietnamese businesses should regularly update information on local regulations and choose suitable partners.

From the supplier’s perspective, the current context and some recent events show that Singapore is in dire need of diversifying the supply of food products, especially the group of meat products of all kinds.

They also proposed that the State pay attention and consider negotiating with Singapore on the supply of meat and eggs to facilitate trade for the official import and export of these products from Việt Nam. VNS