SFA Says Shine Muscat Grapes in Singapore Are Safe to Eat

We know that you come to Goody Feed for mindless scrolling and reading after a long day’s work, but with a headline like this, it feels important to cut to the chase:

Shine Muscat grapes, currently available in major supermarkets, are safe to eat.

This is the conclusion and statement drawn by the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) after concerns started brewing amid reports from Thailand that a wide variety of samples were found with unusually high levels of pesticides.

The Shine Muscat grapes that are imported into Singapore are subject to routine tests for pesticides, as they do for all food items, and SFA has shared that the tests on the grapes brought into Singapore did not detect residue levels that would be harmful to the public.

SFA has also added that strict regulations are in place to restrict the amount of permitted residue and chemicals that can remain on food.

“Retailers must ensure that the food they sell are obtained from SFA-regulated sources, prepared or processed in a safe and hygienic manner, and do not compromise food safety,” SFA said in a statement.

Shine Muscat Grapes that get imported into Singapore retailers mainly come from countries such as China, Korea, and Japan, SFA said, and such food products must be imported by SFA-licensed importers.

Heard it through the grapevine

But why are we all getting concerned over these grapes anyway? Sure they’re crispy, juicy, and also really delicious, but maybe we’re making too much of a fuss?

Well, it starts with what happened last week, when reports from the Thai Pesticide Alert Network (Thai-PAN), together with the Thailand Consumers Council (TCC) and the country’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA), alleged Shine Muscat grapes contained pesticide residues higher than the legal limit.

This was after the group bought Shine Muscat grapes from various locations such as online shops and supermarkets to test them.

Of the 24 grape samples they collected, 23 samples contained pesticide residues exceeding the legal limit.

Prokchon Usap, a coordinator with the Thai-PAN, has said in a statement that the results were “quite shocking”, with chlorpyrifos, an insecticide banned in Thailand, detected in the samples.

50 other pesticide residue were also detected in the 22 samples, including 22 types of pesticides yet to be regulated under Thai law, such as triasulfuron, cyflumetofen, tetraconazole and fludioxonil.

As the pesticides remain in the grapevine tissue, they are most likely difficult to remove and will remain in the fruit forever.

That’s pretty galling, to be honest.

Ultimately, as SFA says, make sure you get your fruits from reputable sources and always, and this feels like something we as a news outlet shouldn’t have to tell you this outright, but please do: wash your fruit and vegetables well!