Channel NewsAsia 17 Jul 10;
SINGAPORE: Singapore's food safety watchdog has suspended the sale of eggs produced by a local farm, N & N Agriculture Farm.
The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) said it found residues of an antibiotic called doxycycline in the eggs.
It has immediately suspended N & N Agriculture Farm from selling its eggs and taking any birds or eggs out of the farm.
The move comes after a routine surveillance tests on local poultry farms on Saturday.
All eggs produced on the farm will be destroyed under AVA's supervision.
The suspension will remain in place and only be lifted when AVA is satisfied that the farm has fully complied with AVA's requirements.
Supermarkets and other retailers have started to take the eggs off the shelf.
AVA said those who may have consumed N & N eggs recently need not be alarmed.
It said the levels of doxycycline in the eggs that tested positive were low and will not have any adverse health effect unless consumed over a prolonged period.
Taking such eggs occasionally or over a short term will not be a concern.
Consumers who have bought N & N eggs are advised not to consume them.
N & N Agriculture Farm produces about nine per cent of Singapore's total egg supply.
AVA said there will not be any impact on the supply of eggs.
Eggs from other local farms and accredited farms in Malaysia can easily make up for any shortfall.
AVA said other local and imported eggs continue to be safe for consumption.
Singapore consumes about four million eggs a day with about 23 per cent from the local farms.
In general, antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infections.
When chickens are under treatment, the eggs are not allowed to be sold.
Doxycycline can be used in poultry under proper dosage regimes and withdrawal periods.
A withdrawal period between the treatment of the chickens and the sale of eggs from the treated chickens must be complied with to ensure that no doxycycline residues are found in the eggs. - CNA/vm
AVA stops sale of eggs from farm
Low levels of antibiotic residue found; egg supply in S'pore unlikely to be affected
Goh Chin Lian Straits Times 18 Jul 10;
An egg farm in Singapore has been suspended from selling its eggs, after residues of an antibiotic were found in them.
But the authorities were quick to assure consumers who recently ate eggs from N & N Agriculture Farm not to be alarmed.
'The levels of doxycycline in the eggs that tested positive were low, and will not have any adverse health effect unless consumed over a prolonged period,' said the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) in a statement yesterday evening.
It said eating such eggs occasionally or over a short term will not be a concern. But the AVA advised those who had bought N & N eggs not to eat them.
It said it discovered the antibiotic in the eggs yesterday after routine surveillance tests on poultry farms here.
It immediately suspended N & N from selling the eggs and taking any birds or eggs out of the farm.
The AVA said it would lift the suspension only when it is satisfied that the farm has fully complied with its requirements.
Supermarkets and other retailers here have also started to withdraw the eggs from sale, the AVA said.
About four million eggs a day are consumed in Singapore.
N & N is one of three egg farms here. Located in Lim Chu Kang, it supplies 9 per cent of the eggs eaten here, or more than 300,000 a day.
The other two farms here, Seng Choon and Chew's Agriculture, supply another 14 per cent together.
Coupled with accredited farms in Malaysia, they can easily make up for any shortfall, the AVA said.
Its spokesman told The Sunday Times last night that it was investigating how the antibiotic got into the feed for the chickens.
N & N director Ma Chin Chew met AVA officers last night at their Maxwell Road office for an hour.
Mr Ma, 42, told The Sunday Times he was in Kuala Lumpur when he received news of the suspension at about 3pm. He drove back to Singapore immediately.
He said his farm uses antibiotics only as part of a vaccine programme for chickens during their growth and not when they are ready to lay eggs.
He suspects the antibiotic may have been in the pre-mixes used to feed his 400,000-plus chickens. The pre-mixes come from places like Japan and Thailand, he said. The AVA has taken samples of the pre-mixes for tests.
Farmers use antibiotics to treat bacterial infections. When chickens are under treatment, their eggs are not allowed to be sold, explained the AVA.
Doxycycline can be used in poultry under proper dosage regimes and by observing a withdrawal period between the time chickens are treated and the sale of their eggs.
Price of Malaysia-imported eggs rise after Saturday's recall of local farm produce
Zhao Quan Yin Channel NewsAsia 18 Jul 10;
SINGAPORE : Eggs imported from Malaysia will cost more from Monday, with each egg costing one cent more.
Local egg farms are also looking to adjust their prices.
The price hike comes after food safety authorities suspended the sale of eggs produced by N & N Agriculture Farm, whose eggs were found to contain an antibiotic called doxycycline.
Staff from the farm said they did not feed their poultry the antibiotic, and suspect there was something wrong with the feed.
The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) of Singapore revisited the farm on Sunday to conduct investigations. - CNA /ls
