Food Safety: Need for more vigilance
As Singapore diversifies imports, more investment needed to fund overseas inspections
Gregory Dalziel and Ng Sue Chia, Today Online 27 Mar 08;
Fears of a contamination of the food supply by terrorist groups have grown over the past 15 years. The United States, through international agreements, is spearheading the drive for nations to focus on "food defence" to mitigate such threats.
But an ongoing study by the Centre of Excellence for National Security (Cens) suggests this concern and the approach taken may not apply to the Singapore context, and may even blind decision-makers to more pressing threats to or divert limited resources from Singapore's food supply.
The US government defines food defence as "protecting the nation's food supply from deliberate or intentional acts of contamination or tampering", largely framed around bio-terrorist threats.
In the literature regarding the bioterrorist threat to food supply, there is widespread belief that terrorists can easily replicate the large-scale impact of previous food safety breakdowns or the outbreak of zoonotic diseases — any disease that can be transmitted from animals to humans.
Yet, the Cens study suggests that this is not the case: Such terrorist attacks remain sparse and when they do occur, their impact is minimal.
The vast majority of incidents are criminal in nature, committed by individuals against those with which they had close daily contact and occur either in the home or workplace, or where food was sold directly to the consumer (stores, restaurants, food stalls and so on).
The literature on food defence is also predominantly concerned with the physical security of food and agriculture production and processing facilities.
But attacks against food or water production facilities have generally occurred in conflict regions, and the attacks have been conventional (using explosives and bullets).
Where food products have been tampered in production facilities, the historical weapon of choice has been physical contaminants (metal and glass objects).
The use of biological agents for the deliberate contamination of food is rare, and in most cases perpetrated by discontented, highly-trained medical professionals.
Cens has found only nine incidents over the last 70 years that the centre could confirm using open sources. One of the worst of these incidents occurred in 1964 in Japan, in which Dr Mitsuru Suzuki killed four co-workers and injured 200 others at a hospital using salmonella typhi.
Why China has experienced a rash of fairly-high-profile and highly-fatal criminal food poisoning incidents over the last 10 years is possibly due to contaminates such as highly-toxic rodenticides.
Pesticides or insecticides are most often found in heavily-agricultural regions in which such materials are necessary and easily available, legally or on the black market.
Thallium is another chemical compound often used in food poisoning incidents. While thallium causes excruciating death and is the weapon of choice by some states for assassinations, its effects are localised and targeted.
It is important to note that food defence, security and safety are concerned with different issues.
Food security was defined in 1996 at the World Food Summit as existing "when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life".
Food safety refers to ensuring that food, at all points along the food chain, is kept safe for consumption to reduce food borne diseases.
Since deliberate, devastating attacks on food supply is uncommon, what does this mean for Singapore?
While the capability and intent of terrorist groups to attack the food supply here is unclear, the Cens study does suggest that based on historical precedence, an attack is unlikely. But to ensure good food safety practices and standards are maintained, continued close private or government cooperation is necessary.
As for ensuring food security, it is very important, given Singapore's small agricultural base and the high reliance on food imports.
Increasing demand from India and China as well as the global trend of diverting resources towards bio-fuel production will have an impact on the price of food staples.
Hence, the Agri-food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore's (AVA) policy of diversifying food imports and its zonal approach to maintain supplies from regions affected by zoonotic diseases should be maintained.
Singapore has an enviable record in food safety in the region and worldwide. Its response to food safety breakdowns, evidenced by the rapid response of the AVA and the health ministry to the PrimaDeli incident, is exemplary.
The AVA monitors imports coming into Singapore and inspects facilities overseas.
However, as Singapore diversifies its food imports to guarantee food security, more investment may be needed in funding overseas inspections and in its monitoring and detection capabilities of imports.
The writers are associate research fellows at Cens in the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies at the Nanyang Technological University and conduct research on homeland defence matters. This is an edited version of the commentary printed by the school.
