Monitoring Meat Purchases Bought from Malaysia through Online Platforms
Ministry of Sustainability and the EnvironmentSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the monitoring of meat purchases from Malaysia through online platforms and potential reviews of personal consumption policies. Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu Hai Yien stated that the Singapore Food Agency works with border authorities and e-commerce platforms to delist non-compliant meat products. While meat from Malaysia is currently not approved for personal import, a revised policy under the Food Safety and Security Bill will allow travellers to bring 15 kilogrammes of food from any country. This change, which continues to disallow animal blood and game meat, was passed in January 2025 and will be implemented in phases by 2028. The transition period allows the industry and the authorities to put in place systems that ensure food safety is maintained while updating import limits.
Transcript
18 Miss Rachel Ong asked the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) how meat purchases, specifically barbecued pork slices, bought through online platforms, such as Shopee or Lazada, from Malaysian sources are being screened or monitored; (b) whether the purchase restrictions for meat imports from Malaysia only refer to non-vacuum packed meat; and (c) whether the Government has plans to review related policies on meat imports from Malaysia for personal consumption.
Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien: The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) requires all food businesses and importers selling meat products, whether through physical stores or e-commerce platforms, to ensure that their products come from accredited sources. SFA works with the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority to conduct border inspections and with e-commerce platforms to delist meat products that do not comply with our regulations.
Travellers may bring in food items from abroad for their own consumption, provided that the food is from an approved source within SFA's list of allowable food items and the specified weight limits. This information is available on the SFA website. Meat products from Malaysia are currently not on the approved list.
SFA will be implementing a revised private consumption policy to allow each traveller to bring in a total of 15 kilogrammes of food across all categories from any country for their personal consumption. However, products of higher regulatory concern, such as animal blood products and game meat, will continue to be disallowed.
The revised policy will be implemented under the Food Safety and Security Bill (FSSB) that was passed in Parliament in January 2025. As the FSSB is extensive, it will be implemented in phases by 2028 to facilitate a smooth transition for the industry and for SFA to put in place the necessary processes and systems to continue to safeguard food safety.