Accidental Ammonia Gas leak disrupts Abattoir operations
SINGAPORE: Operations were halted at Singapore's only pig abattoir on Monday due to an accidental ammonia gas leak.
It happened in one of the pork chiller rooms and the abattoir in
Buroh Lane was cordoned off as a safety precaution and to rectify the
leak.
The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) said operations are
expected to resume on Tuesday, once the plant gets the all clear.
It added that chilled pork from pigs imported from Indonesia will be back on sale on Thursday.
Some 900 pigs arrive in Singapore every day from the Indonesian
island of Pulau Bulan. This accounts for about 20 per cent of all pork
consumed in Singapore.
However, AVA said the incident will have minimal impact on the
supply of pork in Singapore because there is sufficient supply of
chilled pork from Australia and frozen pork from other approved
sources.
AVA will ensure that it will be safe for the abattoir personnel to
resume operations and that the pork produced is safe and free from
ammonia contamination.
- CNA/yb
Pork sellers at wet markets affected by abbatoir suspension
The sale of pork at wet markets this morning was affected due to the temporary suspension of an abattoir.
A gas leak at Singapore’s only pig abattoir yesterday halted operations, affecting the supply of chilled pork.
As a result, some stall holders selling pork decided to shut their stalls today.
Over at Ang Mo Kio Ave 10 ,of the nine stalls that sold pork, only one stall was open for business.
Its owner Mr Quek says he’s selling what he has in the freezer.
"I'm selling some balance stocks from yesterday. There are still some
more in the freezer which I plan to sell tomorrow. Some of the stall
holders who don't stock up in the freezer won't have any pork to sell,
that's why the stalls aren't open today."
Chilled pork from pigs imported from Indonesia will be back on sale on Thursday.
Meanwhile, business is brisk for other stallholders.
Some stallholders have noticed that customers who can't buy pork have switched to chicken instead.
The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority has confirmed that operations at the Buroh Lane abattoir resumed this morning.
--938Live