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