The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) is hoping a new unit, which will be set up after the current crisis blows over, will give an added layer of protection for food here.

Its role will be to test for potential non-conventional food contaminants and gather intelligence on the ground to safeguard against future food scares.

The idea was mooted by National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan during a visit to the AVA lab in Lim Chu Kang yesterday, which is now a test site for melamine in food.

The food authority has agreed to look into the suggestion once the tainted-milk scandal blows over. In the latest scare from China, melamine added to milk and milk products killed four infants in the country and sickened thousands.

Tainted products were also exported to other countries. In Singapore, such items were pulled from shelves, and some 600 of a list of more than 1,000 products have been tested. The AVA found melamine in 10, all of which were from China.

So far, it has not found any contamination in products made elsewhere, said the AVA. It will need two weeks to a month to test all the samples.

While the forensics unit will help in detecting and perhaps averting some contamination cases, testing every single food item would be impractical, said Mr Mah. There was also no guarantee that food scares would not happen again.

Singapore already errs on the side of caution by sampling 'lots more than other countries', he added.

Here, the most likely food contaminants - like salmonella and E. coli toxins - are tested for. Over 350 new chemicals enter the market each year.

AVA chief executive Chua Sin Bin said: 'We import most of our food so this unit will be useful because official information sometimes comes more slowly. It will be put together once things are settled.'

The unit would gather a group of scientists to put their ears to the ground and gather information from traders, importers, consumers and counterparts in other countries. The aim is to get industry information, for example, on which manufacturers and importers are dependable.

Dr Chua added that the unit would likely test food products regularly for melamine as well from now on.

Experts like food science and technology lecturer Dr Leong Lai Peng from the National University of Singapore think such a unit could work. 'It might be looking for a needle in a haystack if there are no leads, but if the intelligence gathered points to specific products it will work. Also, more comprehensive tests will mean that there will be a higher chance of detecting contaminants.'

Meanwhile, the suspension on import and sales of milk products from China will hold until further checks and discussions with Chinese parties, said Mr Mah.

The AVA held a dialogue session with 160 traders and manufacturers two days ago to give them an update on the situation and gather feedback.

Manufacturers of dairy products have also been advised not to place advertisements claiming that their China-made products are safe. Both Nestle and Unilever were told to stop such placements.

Mr Mah said: 'If they want to do that, they have to satisfy AVA first of all that their products are clean and there is no contamination and no ingredients that are made from suspected sources.

'At this point in time, there is no way for us to support their claim. If they go around telling people that it is safe, there is going to be a lot of confusion.'

limjess@sph.com.sg