A 41-year-old man was fined S$10,000 (US$7,415) yesterday (Sept 6) for the sale of pig’s blood and uncooked fertilized duck eggs, otherwise known as balut. The Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA), which received a tip-off about the illegal food products, inspected Ang Kok Leong’s flat and found 15.6kg of pig’s blood products, as well as 857 pieces of balut. The items were seized and destroyed.
According to a media release by the AVA, the import of food in Singapore is regulated for animal health and food safety reasons. Meat, eggs and their by-products can only be brought in from accredited sources in approved countries that meet Singapore’s food safety requirements. Currently, there are no approved sources of balut. Sorry, food adventurers.
As for animal blood food products, these are banned in Singapore, as blood can support the spread of bacteria and harbor diseases. The unhygienic harvesting of blood can also introduce food borne pathogens into blood food products.
Anyone who illegally imports meat products from unapproved sources can be fined up to $50,000 and or be sentenced to two years in jail.
