Mr Koh Soo Keong, Chairman of AVA

Dr Chua Sin Bin, CEO of AVA

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen.

Good evening. I am happy to join you at this year’s Food Safety Awards Night. In this annual event, we celebrate the achievements of our local food industry in food safety excellence.

Rising Food Prices and Food Safety

2 This year has been a particularly challenging period for the food industry, as prices of some of our key food items have risen significantly. This has seriously affected our people.

3 The general food price inflation we are experiencing is a worldwide phenomenon, the result of imbalance in supply and demand, as well as rising fuel costs. Given our heavy dependence on food imports, we are unfortunately affected by such global food price increases.

Diversifying our Sources of Imports

4 To help mitigate the impact of food price escalation, AVA’s strategy is to encourage and allow as many as possible, and as widespread as possible, the number of supply sources so that we can import food at competitive prices from many different sources of supply.

5 In this regard, AVA has made good progress.

6 To date, more than 10,000 establishments in 29 countries have been accredited to export meat to Singapore. In fact, AVA accredited a total of 158 establishments in 19 countries in the first half of this year alone.

7 AVA is helping the importers cast their nets wider to non-traditional sources. Food sourcing missions to such countries have borne fruit. For example, frozen Namibian fish is now available at NTUC FairPrice outlets. New sources closer to home, such as in the Philippines and Vietnam, are also being explored for meat, seafood and vegetables.

Working together with the Industry

8 The industry has a crucial role to play in ensuring a stable supply of food at competitive prices for Singapore. I am glad our importers have collaborated with AVA in exploring new supply sources. As AVA accredits more new supply sources, importers must also seize the opportunity to procure from these sources and establish a steady stream of food from these new sources.

9 Our importers could also explore the feasibility of setting up their own food supply zones by investing in high yield food production in regional countries. We have strong competitive advantages in research, technology and logistics that they can leverage on. For example, the robust fingerlings and efficient vegetable farming and post-harvest techniques that AVA has developed, could be commercialised through investments in aquaculture and vegetable farms in other countries.

10 In addition, all firms in our food industry must develop robust Business Continuity Plans, or BCPs. Such BCPs should include maintaining buffer stocks to tide over any supply disruptions, as well as pre-identifying alternative suppliers that can be activated quickly to ensure continuity of supply. Those companies that held buffer stocks in their cold stores during the avian flu outbreaks in Malaysia in 2004, for example, were able to continue doing business and that helped to mitigate the supply disruption while the importers quickly activated links to raise the imports of frozen poultry.

11 Apart from the government and industry efforts to cushion food price increases, consumers have a major role in managing their costs of food by turning to cheaper alternatives where it makes sense, such as from chilled fresh meat to frozen meat. Despite the recent price increases, frozen meat is still around 15-20% cheaper than chilled meat. AVA’s public education efforts have borne fruits. Judging from the increased sales of frozen meat at our local supermarkets, there is now greater acceptance of this value-for-money alternative. Credit for this must also go to the traders who promptly responded to consumer feedback by providing frozen meat in smaller portions that are more family-friendly.

Inter-agency Committee on Food Supply Resilience

12 Going forward, we need to recognise that many of the factors that are affecting the food supply situation today are not temporary ones, but structural changes. For example, the increased demand for food due to rising affluence of developing countries, diversion of arable land for biofuel production and climate change causing more frequent supply disruptions. In this regard, we have set up an Inter-agency Committee, jointly led by MND and MTI, to consider our medium to long-term strategies in ensuring food supply resilience. This Committee will study the changes and trends in global food supply, and examine policies on enhancing Singapore’s food supply with a view to manage supply and price shocks, in consultation with our industry players. I hope to be able to share with everyone some of the findings in due course.

Maintaining High Standards of Food Safety

13 Even as we tackle the issues of escalating food price and establishing a more resilient supply of food for Singapore, we should ensure that our food safety regime is not compromised. On its part, AVA will ensure that food safety standards and import requirements are maintained and in line with international standards and best practices, even as it accredits more supply zones and establishments.

14 The industry must also play its roles in maintaining high food safety standards. These include the adoption of good agricultural and manufacturing practices, as well as food safety assurance programmes, such as the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) , that are designed to ensure the quality and safety of your products.

15 Keeping food safe for consumers makes both good moral and business sense. With consumers becoming more discerning and demanding for wholesome food, the competitiveness of food establishments are dependent on their reputation on food quality and safety. Therefore, it makes perfect business sense for all food producers, manufacturers and retailers to continue to maintain high food safety standards.

Recognising Food Safety Excellence

16 Tonight, we will be giving out the Food Safety Excellence Awards to recognise the exemplary efforts and achievements of companies in producing safe and quality food. I would like to congratulate and applaud all the award recipients for your praise-worthy efforts and to encourage you to keep up the good work.

17 I would also like to make special mention of AVA’s Food Safety Partners who have played an active role in educating consumers on food safety.

18 This year, Singapore Food Industries Pte Ltd (SFI), will be joining the ranks of the select few who are being held up as role models for the food industry. Tai Hua Food Industries Pte Ltd will be renewing its partnership with AVA. I hope that more companies will follow in their footsteps to spread the word on food safety to consumers.

Educating Consumers

19 In this year’s food safety public education programme, major retailers and AVA’s Food Safety Partners will be spreading the message : “Select Food Carefully”.

20 Commencing with tonight’s Food Safety Awards Night, a series of activities will be launched to reach out to consumers for a whole month. Simple tips based on the food safety theme will also be disseminated through the mass media, at libraries and schools, and at supermarkets.

Concluding Remarks

21 In concluding, let me say that our safe food supplies cannot be taken for granted. Our high standards of food safety did not happen by chance, and require all of us to work together to maintain it. Let us continue to collaborate and make our food supply resilient, affordable and above all, safe.

22 Thank you.

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