Singapore resumes food imports from 7 Japanese prefectures

Only Fukushima imports remain suspended.

In a release, the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) announced that it is lifting the suspension of food imports from seven prefectures in Japan with immediate effect. This follows a review by AVA and assurances from the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) on the safety of food from Japan.

Import of milk and milk products, meat and meat products, table hen eggs, seafood, fruits and vegetables from Chiba, Ibaraki, Gunma, Kanagawa, Saitama, Tochigi and Tokyo prefectures is now resumed. However, every consignment of the above products from these prefectures has to be accompanied by a certificate of origin (COO) as well as a pre-export laboratory report, which certifies that the food has been tested for radioactivity and found to be free from radioactive contaminants.

Following the lifting of the suspension, only food from Fukushima prefecture remains suspended.

Since the incident at the Fukushima Nuclear Plant in March 2011, AVA has increased its surveillance of food imports from Japan to test for radioactive contaminants to ensure that they are safe for consumption. The import of food from several prefectures in Japan was suspended following the incident.

In April 2011, AVA implemented a Certificate of Origin (COO) system for food imports from Japan. Under this system, each shipment of fruits, vegetables, meat, seafood, milk and dairy products has to be accompanied by a COO issued by the Japanese authorities to identify the prefecture of origin of the food product.

AVA said it will continue to closely monitor food imports from Japan to ensure that they comply with our requirements for COO, pre-export test reports and freedom from radioactive contaminants. AVA also reassured that food imported from Japan that is available in the market is safe for consumption.