On July 18, Singapore Food Agency (SFA) unveiled the Food (Amendment) Regulations 2022, which will come into effect on July 31, 2022. The changes lie in that the competent authority now allows the use of Pathogen Reduction Treatments (PRTs) on meat, including imported meat and meat produced by SFA-licensed meat deboning and cutting plants or slaughterhouses.
PRT refers to the antimicrobial substances that reduce the food’s microbial level, and they can be used on carcasses and meat cut by the form of rinse, dip, spray or wash. Starting from the implementation date, SFA will permit the application of PRTs listed in the new Seventeenth Schedule of the Food Regulations on meat. It is noteworthy that manufacturers using PRTs should kept the records of PRT usage for at least six months.
PRTs will be regarded as processing aids while be used on meat in accordance with the new regulations. In this case, it is not required to label PRT for prepackaged meat that has been treated with PRTs or prepackaged food containing PRT-treated meat as an ingredient.