Two Brazil-based poultry suppliers of NTUC FairPrice are currently under investigation for bribing health screening officers to cover up the rotten meat held in their facilities for sale. The two holding companies under investigation are BRF, which owns the Sadia and Perdigao brands, and JBS, owner of Big Frango and Swift brands. However, NTUC claimed none of the affected establishments which packed the meat exported its tainted products to Singapore.
“FairPrice only carries meat products from AVA accredited sources, which are assessed based on high food safety standards. Our suppliers have also provided assurance that their products are safe for consumption and subject to strict quality requirements. We continue to monitor this matter closely.”
The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) said in a media release yesterday (Mar 20) that Singapore’s poultry were unaffected by the rotten meat scandal in Brazil. On Sunday (Mar 19), 21 meat-processing facilities in Brazil were found to have bribed health screening officers to cover up the sale of rotten meat. The AVA said none of the 21 facilities is approved as meat importers from Brazil.
The other local supermarket which import poultry from Brazil is Diary Farm, but the supermarket said that it has received confirmation that its sources are not among the investigation list.
There has so far been no cases of food poisoning owing to poultry consumption reported.