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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.
