Southeast Asia conducts safety checks on Shine Muscat grapes amid pesticide concerns

The Singapore Food Agency said on Wednesday that tests performed on the fruit available in the city-state did not detect pesticide residue levels that are of food safety concern, CNA reported.

It also assures the public that regulations are in place to restrict the residual amount of permitted chemicals in food and that it will continue to monitor the situation.

Pesticide tests are regularly conducted and food that fails inspection will not be allowed for sale, it added.

Shine Muscat grapes, imported into Singapore by SFA-licensed businesses, are a variety originating from Japan that features a yellow-green hue, crisp flesh, no seeds, and delightful sweetness, according to The Straits Times.

The fruit has been in the spotlight this past week after the Thai Pesticide Alert Network, in collaboration with the Thailand Consumers Council (TCC) and the country’s Food and Drug Administration, issued a warning last Thursday about unsafe chemical residues exceeding permitted levels found in samples of Shine Muscat grapes sold in Thailand.

Tests performed on 24 imported grape samples collected in Bangkok by TCC found that one contained chlorpyrifos, a hazardous banned chemical, while 22 others contained 14 types of toxic residues exceeding the default limit.

The warning also sparked food safety concerns over the fruit in Malaysia and Indonesia, with the former’s Agriculture and Food Security Ministry announcing on Sunday that it would launch an inspection into imported Shine Muscat grapes.

Malaysia’s Health Ministry said on Monday that the Food Quality and Safety Programme had analyzed 234 grape samples, and only four non-Shine Muscat samples did not meet the requirements regarding the maximum residue level, as reported by Malaysian newspaper The Star.

It assured the public that the next shipment of the controversial grape will be inspected and that stringent checks are conducted at the country’s borders to ensure food security.

Meanwhile in Indonesia, the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency said on Wednesday that it was checking samples of Shine Muscat grapes across the country, Indonesian newspaper The Jakarta Post reported.

The agency has asked the public to temporarily limit their consumption of the fruit while the investigation, also prompted by reports from Thailand, is underway.

Aji Muhawarman, a spokesman for Indonesia’s Ministry of Health, recommended that consumers thoroughly wash fruits and vegetables, opt for organic products, and check labels for details on origin and food safety certification, as cited by The Jakarta Globe.