SE Asia markets confirm safety of Shine Muscat imports

Authorities in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia have given the all-clear on the safety of Shine Muscat grape imports after conducting further tests on residue levels following a recent scare in Thailand.

NGO organisation the Thailand Consumers Council (TCC), together with the Thai Pesticide Alert Network (Thai-PAN), sparked concerns over the safety of Shine Muscat grapes on 25 October after it reported finding excessive pesticide residue levels in a variety of samples taken in the Bangkok area.

The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) was swift to respond to the reports, saying last Wednesday (30 October) that tests performed on the fruit available in the city-state did not detect pesticide residue levels that were of food safety concern, according to Channel News Asia.

SFA added that it has regulations in place to restrict the residual amount of permitted chemicals, such as pesticides, as they remain in food. It said it also routinely conducts tests for pesticides in food, including fruits like Shine Muscat grapes. Food will not be allowed to go on sale if it fails SFA’s inspection and food safety tests. All Shine Muscat grapes must be imported by SFA-licensed importers, it added.

One leading Singaporean fruit importer told Asiafruit that consumer confidence in Shine Muscat was “a little bit shaky” after the reports from Thailand, and that the market price had “dropped by 30 per cent and more”.

“I hear the market is trying to stop all incoming shipments and clearing stock on hand,” he said. “Having said that, it’s the end of the [Shine Muscat] season now in China. 

“Whatever China is packing now is fruit that was harvested in May and stored in coldrooms for later in the season. So we don’t see this issue having any long-term impact.”

Malaysia gives all-clear, but ups testing

Malaysia’s Ministry of Health also made a statement last week confirming no samples of Shine Muscat grapes contained pesticide residues exceeding the maximum residue level (MRL).

The ministry said the finding was the result of the Food Safety and Quality Programme, conducted from 2020 to September 2024, under which 5,561 samples of imported fruit and vegetables were analysed for pesticide residues.

“Out of 234 grape samples analysed during this time, four (1.71 percent) were found not to comply with the MRLs, none of which involved Shine Muscat grapes,” the ministry said in a statement on 28 October.

The statement said inspections would be imposed on subsequent imports under a ‘hold, test and release’ protocol. This requires food consignments to be held for sampling.

The ministry has also implemented a hold and test protocol for pesticide residue testing on Chinese mandarins from 1 November 2024 to 31 January 2025. Under the protocol, every container will be tested before release.

A leading Malaysian importer, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that there were no residue issues with the company’s imports of Shine Muscat grapes.

“A lot of the Shine Muscat entering Thailand from China is via border trade and it mainly comes in by truck from small growers,” he said. “We mainly import from large growers and packers with phytosanitary certificates.”

Despite receiving food safety endorsement from authorities, the importer said sales of Shine Muscat had also slowed down in Malaysia.

Another leading marketer-distributor said shoppers in Malaysia remained concerned after the scare in Thailand, adding that consumpion of Shine Muscat had dropped significantly. “We heard Malaysian importers have even put an immediate stop to the loading of Chinese Shine Muscat given the poor market acceptance,” he said. 

Indonesia authorities give double endorsement

In Indonesia, the National Food Agency (Bapanas) has confirmed that Shine Muscat grapes on the market are safe to eat. At a press conference on Monday (4 November), Bapanas head Arief Prasetyo said laboratory tests conducted by the agency for 240 pesticide residue compounds came back negative for 219 and the remaining 21 were well below the maximum residue limit (MRL).

“These results dispelled concerns raised by the Thai government regarding the presence of dangerous compounds like chlorpyrifos and endrin aldehyde,” he said.

While stressing that it took strict action against any unsafe food products found in the market, Bapanas advised consumers to thoroughly wash fruits, particularly grapes, before consuming them.

Separate laboratory testing by Indonesia’s Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) also confirmed the safety of Shine Muscat grapes in Indonesia.

Head of BPOM Taruna Ikrar said that Shine Muscat imported from China was free of the feared Chlorpyrifos pesticide after testing conducted on hundreds of samples across three of seven key entry points: Jabodetabek, Bandung, and Bandar Lampung.

“Our laboratory at BPOM has objectively and independently determined that the tested samples are undetected for Chlorpyrifos,” Ikrar said during a press conference at the National Food Agency (Bapanas) office on Monday (4 November).

Hendry Sim, vice-director of leading Indonesian fruit importer Laris Manis Utama, said all fruit imports from China were subject to stringent checks.

“China is not a ‘recognised country’ as a supplier to Indonesia like the US and Australia. So before every shipment, all our exporters must send an electronic certificate of analysis for pesticides to Indonesian quarantine authorities. It’s checked by both sides and must be approved before the importer can take the cargo out of the port,” he noted.

Despite the safety assurances from authorities, Sim said retail sales of Shine Muscat had dropped.

Tighter testing in Thailand

In Thailand, meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration has confirmed it will tighten residue testing processes following the Thai-PAN and TCC findings.

The Thai FDA said last Monday (28 October) that fruit and vegetables would be more strictly screened to ensure safety for consumers, according to a report in The Nation.

Surachoke Tangwiwat, FDA secretary-general, said the association will increase the number of prohibited chemicals and pesticides, while the number of samples will be increased from 500 to 5,000 next year to improve inspection efficiency.

Of the 506 fruit and vegetable samples collected in 2024, 177 failed to meet the standards, he said.

Tangwiwat added that the FDA’s inspection of fruit and vegetables was in line with international standards as well as those set by the Department of Agriculture.

Under the tougher measures, any party importing fruit and vegetables that do not meet the standards will face up to Bt50,000 (U$1,500) in fines, while the products will be disposed of or returned to the country of origin, he warned.

Tangwiwat said that while the FDA will focus on the two banned pesticides – chlorpyriphos and paraquat – it will also check for other toxins, especially chemicals the countries of origin use most, according to The Nation’s report.

Referring to Thai-PAN’s claim about hazardous residues on Shine Muscat grapes, Tangwiwat said the Thai FDA will collect samples for inspection again to perform legal actions against distributors.

A leading Thai importer-distributor said the tougher testing regime could slow down customs clearance times when enforced.

Thai-PAN to test more products?

In a social media post issued earlier this week, Thai-PAN said it was looking to conduct random residue testing on more fruit and vegetable categories in the near future.  

Thai-PAN said it had surveyed consumers on the fruit and vegetables they would most like to see tested for chemical residues. Apples came out as the number one product. Kale was number two while oranges, guava and cabbage were tied in third.