Woman fined $8,000 for possessing, selling illegally imported pig’s blood curd
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Animal blood products, such as those made from pig’s blood, are banned in Singapore
PHOTO: SFA
SINGAPORE - A woman was fined $8,000 on Friday for the possession and sale of illegally imported pig’s blood curd.
The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) seized about 30kg of the curd on Jan 21 2021, from Yuan Yifan’s residential unit. Investigations revealed that she had been selling products made from pig’s blood products online.
Animal blood products, such as those made from pig’s blood, are banned in Singapore because the blood can easily support the growth of bacteria and may contain diseases.
Harvesting blood under unhygienic conditions can also result in the introduction of food-borne pathogens into the products.
As illegally imported food products are from unknown sources, they can pose a food safety risk, said the SFA.
In Singapore, food can be imported only by licensed importers, and every consignment must be declared and accompanied by a valid import permit.
SFA advises members of the public who come across the sale of illegal food products online not to patronise such platforms and to alert the agency through its online feedback form (ww.sfa.gov.sg/feedback) or to call the SFA Contact Centre on 6805-2871 with details.
Anyone convicted of illegally importing and selling pig’s blood products can be fined up to $50,000 and/or jailed for up to two years. Repeat offenders may be fined up to $100,000 and/or jailed up to three years.
