SFA testing Indonesian seafood for radioactive contamination, none found so far

Seafood from Indonesia is being sampled and tested for radioactive contamination by the Singapore Food Agency (SFA), with none found tainted so far.

This is in view of new import certification requirements, imposed by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), for shrimp and spices from Indonesia after cases of radioactive contamination were detected earlier, the Singapore agency said in a media reply on Oct 4.

SFA said: "Based on our records, there is no import of the implicated product from Indonesia."

It added that food that is tainted by radioactive caesium-137 occurs mainly from man-made sources, such as improper nuclear waste disposal or environmental contamination due to industrial activities.

SFA said it regularly tests imported food in the retail market to make sure that it is safe, as well as food from sources with a history of nuclear contamination incidents.

"Food for sale in Singapore shall not be contaminated with caesium-137," its spokesperson said.

The US FDA said on its website that it will implement the import certification requirements from certain regions of Indonesia starting on Oct 31, 2025.

Companies on the list will need an accredited third-party to verify control of the radioactive element.

A batch of shrimp shipped to the US in August was found to be contaminated. It was shipped by a company based in an industrial zone near Jakarta, with officials then finding areas in the zone with high levels of exposure.

The same contaminant was also found in a shipment of cloves in late September, the FDA said.