S'pore Recalls M'sian-Made Soy Sauce Due To Undeclared Food Additive Over Permitted Levels
Thean Heong Sauce Maker has since responded to the issue, stressing that none of the affected products had entered Singapore.
Singapore has recalled Malaysian-made Hand Flower Brand Soy Sauce from the market after detecting benzoic acid at levels exceeding the regulatory limit for sauces
According to a statement last Friday, 2 September, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) said the use of benzoic acid was not declared on the food packaging label.
It explained that benzoic acid is a type of food additive, a substance added to food to preserve flavour or enhance taste, appearance, or other sensory qualities.
"As a precautionary measure, SFA has directed the importer, Heng Yoon Trading Pte Ltd, to recall the implicated product. The recall is ongoing," it said.
"Under the Singapore Food Regulations, only permitted food additives with levels within the maximum levels are allowed for use in food."
Image via Singapore Food Agency (Facebook)
However, SFA asserted that a one-off consumption of Hand Flower Brand Soy Sauce is likely not a food safety issue, especially because soy sauce is not a staple food consumed at high levels
"Consumers should not consume food containing high levels of benzoic acid over a long period of time," the food regulatory body said.
"This is because even though benzoic acid is a common additive, which is safe when used in small quantities, studies in animals fed with high doses of benzoic acid have shown disorders of the central nervous system as well as changes in their brains."
Image via 天香醬園有限公司 (Facebook)
The product is made by Thean Heong Sauce Maker, based in Sungai Siput, Perak
In response to the issue, Thean Heong said the shipment of the said batch of products was discontinued before entering the Singapore checkpoint, adding that the products were recovered and destroyed.
"The company, hereby, emphasises that no soy sauce with excess benzoic acid has been released to the market. None of the customers have consumed this batch of products," it clarified in a Facebook statement.
It continued that the incident happened two weeks ago, and the company took immediate action to resolve the matter.
"The Singaporean media just reported the news a few days ago. Many local and online media, because they did not understand the ins and outs of the matter, then reported the side effects of taking a large amount of benzoic acid in the news. This move will cause unease among consumers, and will undoubtedly cause a blow to the company's reputation, which is unfair to us," it said.
It acknowledged the possible side effects of consuming too much benzoic acid in animal trials, but defended the fact that soy sauce is not a substance used in large amounts in cooking.
Thean Heong said the advice to seek medical attention if customers are affected by the products is superfluous, stressing again that none of the affected products were released on the market anyway.
The statement did not acknowledge that the recall notice was issued by SFA.
Last week, SFA also ordered a batch of Malaysian-made snowskin durian mooncakes for recall:
On 11 August, the Ministry of Health announced that Häagen-Dazs vanilla ice cream was recalled from the Malaysian market:
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