July 18, 2011
 

Singapore beef safe for consumption, free from radiation

Singapore's beef has been declared safe for consumption by the country's Agri-food & Veterinary Authority (AVA), after a recent food scare in Japan involving radiation-contaminated beef widened.

The tainted meat was first detected in Japan on July 8, four months after the March 11 quake and tsunami triggered a nuclear crisis.

Following the disasters, the Agri-food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) of Singapore imposed a ban on food imports, such as milk, meat and produce, from areas near the nuclear reactors that had been hit.

Local Japanese marts and restaurants in Singapore, including Fish Mart Sakuraya and Sakura International Buffet, have assured the media that they import their beef from Australia.

In addition, their stocks are checked and approved by AVA before arriving in the kitchen.

However, one restaurant said that prior to the reports, it had been importing wagyu beef from Japan.

But its source was not in the affected area of Fukushima, which is in the east of Japan. Instead, the beef was from Kagoshima in the south of Japan, said chef Patrick Png at Tomo-Izagaya Group, the parent company of Akari.