SINGAPORE: Singapore's Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority
(AVA) is more than halfway done with testing food samples for
traces of the industrial plastic, melamine.
Of the more than 2,200 samples, 1,450 have been tested. Moving
forward, the AVA said it would expand its test on animal feed and
pet food.
Some pet owners may not be aware of this, but pet food such as
doggie treats contain milk and some ingredients used are from
China.
While industry estimates put the proportion of China-made pet food
at about 5 per cent of total market share, retailers whom Channel
NewsAsia spoke with are not taking any chances.
Even though the AVA has not issued any advisories on pet food, one
company has stopped the import of a doggie treat that is
manufactured with China-made milk. It estimates a five-figure sum
loss but said it would rather play it safe.
The last time reports surfaced on melamine-tainted pet food was in
March last year when there was a massive recall of China-made pet
food in the US. Thousands of cats and dogs were reportedly ill, and
hundreds more were said to have died from eating the tainted
food.
In fact, since the melamine fallout in the US last year, one
company has stopped selling pet food made in China.
Vincent Kok, owner of Petz Evolution, said: "Previously, there were
some (pet food) from China but some of the distributors have
removed them, so till now, we have not sold anything made in
China."
Petz Evolution said since the melamine scandal broke out in
Singapore three weeks ago, it has received about 20 to 30 calls a
week from concerned pet owners.
On their part, pet owners are also checking labels to find out
where the pet food has been manufactured.
Some pet food retailers are going a step further to check with
suppliers and distributors to ensure that the imported products
they sell do not contain any milk-based ingredients from
China.
- CNA/so