Mothership.sg reader Koh Wee Leng wrote in to express concern over the packaging information on mixed nuts and berries sold by NTUC FairPrice.

Koh supplied the following photographs, which indicated that the FairPrice Natural Fruits and Nuts were "product (sic) of Singapore".

Koh asked, "Since when did Singapore grow almonds, pistachio and berries? If the products were from China, why not label them as: 'Product of China. Packed in Singapore?'"

Koh added that such labelling was "ruining the reputation of Singapore made goods."

Mothership.sg contacted the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) for comments on labelling conventions, as well as how AVA ensures packaging companies acquire ingredients from reputable sources.

Here's AVA's response:

As part of AVA’s food safety programme, imported foods are monitored and sampled for food safety and compliance with our standards and requirement. Our sampling tests cover a wide range of chemical contaminants and microbiological hazards such as pesticide residues, drug residues (e.g. antibiotics and hormones) as well as microbial hazards (e.g. Salmonella).

Food products that fail our inspections and tests will not be allowed for sale and enforcement action (e.g. destruction of the implicated food product, license suspension, import restriction, etc) will be taken. In addition, AVA-licensed food establishments are subjected to our inspection surveillance programme, which also involves sampling of the food products for laboratory testing.

With regard to food labelling, in general, “Product of Country” / “Made in Country” refers to the country where the food is last processed to become the final food product for sale. To be labelled as a “Product of Singapore”, the food item needs to be manufactured, processed, blended or mixed in Singapore to become the final food product for sale.

AVA is investigating the feedback on the labelling of the implicated products.

Mothership.sg also reached out to NTUC FairPrice for their comments:

"As a responsible retailer, food safety is of utmost importance to NTUC FairPrice. Our customers look to us for safe and good quality food and we ensure we comply with AVA’s food safety and product labelling guidelines and regulations. Our products are subject to regular inspections and checks by the authorities and we have a dedicated food safety and quality department to ensure compliance of product safety and quality standards.

Products found in grocery stores that have “Product of [Country]” stated on the label refers to the country where the food product was last processed before they are sold to consumers as required by the guidelines set by the authorities. For example, a bottled condiment or canned food might have ingredients originating from a range of countries, but would be labelled according to where the product was last manufactured, processed, blended or mixed in to become the final food product for sale.

In the case of FairPrice Natural Fruits and Nuts, the product was processed and packaged in Singapore."

Images provided by Koh Wee Leng.

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