In Singapore, five importers were fined a total of $28,000 for bringing in food products that did not conform to import permit requirements. This was made clear by the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) in a statement on Wednesday.

The agency said that its officers had detected 2,565 kg of undeclared and under-declared fruit and vegetables and 936 kg of undeclared and under-declared processed food in the consignments imported from Malaysia by the five importers. These products were detected and seized by the SFA between September and November 2019 and on Jan 8 this year.

Fruit and vegetables detected during the inspections included romaine lettuce, lemon and spring onion. Processed food detected during the inspections included pre-cut pumpkin, pre-cut broccoli and pre-cut cucumber.

In its release, the agency said that illegally imported vegetables are from unknown sources and pose a food safety risk. Food imports in Singapore must meet SFAs requirements and food safety standards, and can only be brought in by licensed importers. Every consignment must be declared and accompanied with a valid import permit, the agency added.