Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on Misrepresentation of Thawed Frozen Meat as Fresh Meat

Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on Misrepresentation of Thawed Frozen Meat as Fresh Meat by Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) whether the Ministry has received any complaints about merchants misrepresenting thawed frozen meat as fresh meat in the past five years; and (b) what are the signs that consumers can look out for to help them identify such misrepresentations.

Answer:

1 Over the past 5 years, the Singapore Food Agency has been alerted to 11 cases of misrepresentation of thawed frozen meat sold as fresh meat. Enforcement action was taken against one case while the remaining other 10 cases were found to be unsubstantiated.

2 Food establishments engaged in the sale of thawed frozen meat are required to label them accordingly. Consumers can look out for such labels before their purchases. Thawed frozen meat can only be identified through laboratory testing. Enforcement action is taken if misrepresentation is found after laboratory testing.