Company fined $6,000 for illegal import of fruits, vegetables and processed food

A company was fined in court on Wednesday (Feb 17) for illegally importing fresh fruits and vegetables as well as processed food for sale in Singapore.

Chai Yuen Di Vegetable LLP was fined a total of $6,000, said the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) in a media release.

In February 2020, SFA officers detected 187.5kg of undeclared fresh fruits and vegetables as well as 584kg of undeclared processed food in the consignments imported from Malaysia during an inspection. All the illegal consignments were seized.

In Singapore, food imports must meet SFA’s requirements.

SFA said: "Food can only be imported by licensed importers, and every consignment must be declared and accompanied with a valid import permit.

"Illegally imported food products are of unknown sources and can pose a food safety risk.

"For example, unregulated or high level of pesticides may be used in illegally imported vegetables. The long-term ingestion of excessive pesticide residues through the consumption of vegetables that have been subjected to pesticide abuse could lead to adverse health effects."

Offenders who illegally import fresh fruits and vegetables may be fined up to $10,000 and/or jailed for up to three years.

Those who illegally import processed food may be fined up to $1,000 and in the case of a subsequent conviction, to a fine not exceeding $2,000.