February 9, 2016

 

Singapore opens market to more US beef products

 

Singapore has expanded the range of US beef products that can be imported to include bone-in cuts, processed beef products, and offal, the US Department of Agriculture said in a report issued by its Foreign Agricultural Service.

 

Previously, Singapore only allowed boneless cuts from cattle less than 30 months old.

 

Exporting the beef products to Singapore is subject to specific conditions including the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore's (AVA) requirement for exporters of processed beef and offal to undergo a pre-approval procedure. 

 

Boneless and bone-in cuts exporters are required to enroll in the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service's (AMS) beef export verification programme for Singapore, which includes conditions on the sources of cattle from which the beef and beef products are derived.

 

For example, beef and beef products derived from cattle of all ages that are born, raised and slaughtered in the US, including feeder cattle born in Canada and Mexico that were raised and slaughtered in the US, are eligible for export to Singapore.

 

Beef and beef products derived from calves imported from Canada for direct slaughter must be under 12 months of age, while boneless cuts must be from animals less than 30 months old if imported from Canada for direct slaughter.

 

Beef and beef products derived from cattle imported from Mexico for direct slaughter are not allowed.

 

Processed beef products

 

US exporters of processed beef products must be approved by AVA and the raw materials used to make the processed beef products must have been sourced from Singapore Export Verification (SEV) programme-compliant product and establishments.

 

Offal

 

The exporter of offal, defined by AVA as "internal organs", must be included in the SEV programme. If the offal originated from another establishment, that establishment must also be in the SEV programme.

 

AVA requires interested exporters to submit, among others, documentation showing the offal was hygienically processed in a separate line destined and fit for human consumption (photographs and videos are welcomed as supporting documentation).

 

AVA also requires that each offal consignment destined for Singapore undergo pre-export testing to ensure compliance with AVA's ractopamine maximum residue level (MRL) of 40 parts per billion (ppb) for liver and 90 ppb for kidney. AVA applies a zero ractopamine MRL for all other internal organs. Ractopamine is a feed additive that promotes leanness in meat of food animals.