Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on Food Imports from US

Question:

To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment in view of the United States’ government shutdown which may affect the operations at its Food and Drug Administration and Food Safety and Inspection Service (a) what are the implications for food and medicines which Singapore imports from the US; and (b) how does the Ministry ensure that these products are safe for consumers and patients.

Answer:

1. The relevant Singapore agencies have independent processes in place to ensure the safety of food and medicinal products sold in Singapore. The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) requires overseas sources of high-risk food products to be accredited before they can be imported and continues to monitor these sources regularly after accreditation. SFA also has an inspection regime to test for food safety along critical nodes of the supply chain, including at the point of import. Unsafe food products will be rejected or recalled from the market. 

2. Medicines are registered and verified by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) to have met rigorous international scientific standards and Good Manufacturing Practice requirements to ensure they are safe, effective, and of good quality. Once the medicines are marketed, HSA conducts risk-based sampling to check that medicines continue to meet the required standards. There is also a national adverse reaction monitoring programme to detect any safety issues reported by healthcare professionals or consumers.

3. When necessary, SFA and HSA will take swift regulatory actions to protect public health, food and medicinal safety.