Mr Richard Eu, Group CEO of Eu Yan Sang International

Mr Lim Teck Sin, CEO of KOOPrime Pte Ltd

Dr Chua Sin Bin, CEO of AVA

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

A very good morning to you.

1 Consumer expectations of food safety have increased over the years. All of us would like to be assured that the food we buy is safe to eat. We look out for information, such as the origin of the food, ingredients used and food safety practices such as HACCP or ISO certifications, to help us make informed decisions.

TCM herbs

2 When it comes to medicinal herbs, consumers expect the same safety assurance as with other food. Traditional Chinese Medicine, or TCM, is very much a part of our Asian tradition, and many of us have taken medicinal herbs to improve our health or cure an ailment.

3 Today, TCM is well accepted globally as a complementary or alternative medical system to western medicine. However, amidst the growing popularity of TCM and increasing demand for TCM herbs, there have also been disturbing reports about TCM herbs contaminated or adulterated with heavy metals, unapproved chemicals or drugs. To maintain consumer confidence, it is critical for the industry to address these concerns on the safety of TCM herbs.

Industry-Government collaboration to ensure safety of TCM herbs

4 Food safety must be a joint responsibility of the industry, the consumer and the Government. This is no different with TCM. In this regard, Eu Yan Sang International Ltd has made concerted efforts to assure consumers of the quality and safety of its TCM herbs.

5 Last month, the “Eu Yan Sang Good Agronomic Practices for Herbs (EYSGAP-Herbs) Certification Scheme” was jointly launched by Eu Yan Sang and the AgriFood Technologies Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA). The Scheme ensures that high food safety standards are maintained at all stages of the supply chain from production, to processing and retailing of TCM herbs.

6 Today, I am happy to witness the signing ceremony of the iGATES project, which is another public-private sector collaboration to strengthen the safety management of TCM herbs. Spearheaded by Eu Yan Sang International and KOOPrime Pte Ltd, the iGATES project is partially funded under “The Enterprise Challenge” or TEC. TEC is an initiative of the Prime Minister’s Office that supports innovative projects that have the potential to create new value or significantly improve the delivery of public service.

7 Eu Yan Sang and KOOPrime have jointly formed iGATES BioInnovation Pte Ltd to drive the iGATES project. With AVA as the pilot agency, iGATES is set to bring the private and public sector partnership to a new level.

About the iGATES Project

8 What is iGATES and how does it contribute to ensuring the safety of TCM herbs? iGATES is an on-line web-based software system aimed at streamlining, automating and integrating various quality and safety assurance processes throughout the TCM supply chain. This encompasses Good Agronomic Practices, Good Laboratory Practices, Good Manufacturing Processes, Good Distribution Practices and Genomic Profiling. iGATES is also the world’s first web portal to combine the duo components of Good Agronomic Practices and Genomic Profiling within one IT system.

9 Leveraging on IT to seamlessly integrate the above-mentioned processes, iGATES enables a large variety and volume of herbs to be tracked efficiently and accurately through real time reporting. In the event that any TCM herb or product is found to be unsatisfactory, the exact source of the problem can be traced quickly and effectively, or the sale can be stopped before any consumer purchases the TCM herb.

Extending iGATES to other food

10 As the national food safety authority, AVA is happy to take on the role as piloting agency for the iGATES project. AVA is continuously enhancing its capabilities to maintain Singapore’s food safety standards and looking for better ways to deliver quality service.

11 The iGATES project can potentially help enhance AVA's existing IT-based food safety regulatory systems. AVA will be working closely with iGATES BioInnovation Pte Ltd to explore the integration of iGATES into its existing regulatory systems. In time to come, iGATES could potentially be used for other food products, in addition to TCM herbs.

Conclusion

12 The iGATES project is another encouraging testimony of the industry’s commitment to work hand in hand with the Government to enhance food safety.

13 I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate iGATES BioInnovation Pte Ltd on their vision in conceptualizing this project to bring about safer and higher quality TCM herbs.

14 I wish the project every success. Thank you.

>>back to top