3 S’pore food chains say they don’t import meat from scandal-hit factory

SINGAPORE — Three of Singapore’s fast food chains say they do not import meat from the Shanghai factory that is at the heart of China’s stale meat scandal.

Shanghai authorities on Sunday shut an OSI plant — a supplier to McDonald’s and KFC in China — for mixing out-of-date meat with fresh products, re-labelling expired goods and other quality problems following an investigative report by a local television station.

McDonald’s Singapore told Channel NewsAsia it does not use any chicken or beef from China. Its restaurants import chicken from Malaysia and Thailand, and beef from Australia, New Zealand and Brazil. KFC and Pizza Hut also said they do not source products from Shanghai OSI.

The Poultry Merchants’ Association said Singapore’s safety standards for fresh meat are stringent. “At the checkpoint, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) will check the live poultry for any unusual deaths. If there are, AVA will check the farms the birds came from. When the birds reach the slaughterhouse, AVA will take excrement samples or even slaughter some live birds for testing,” said Mr Joseph Heng from the Poultry Merchants’ association. CHANNEL NEWSASIA