PUTRAJAYA, August 21 — The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (KPKM) said Singapore’s continued imports of Malaysian poultry demonstrate that local food safety standards are robust.
The Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) recently urged the government to phase out chlorine washes in poultry processing and prohibit ractopamine use across all food-producing animals, aligning Malaysia with higher European Union (EU) standards.
Ractopamine is already banned in more than 160 countries, including the EU, China, and Russia, but Malaysia permits the growth promoter in pigs though not cattle.
“Even though it’s chlorinated chicken, Singapore is importing the majority of our excess chicken and Singapore already imposes a high standard,” KPKM secretary-general Isham Ishak told CodeBlue on the sidelines of the ministry’s monthly assembly here when asked if Malaysia would consider phasing out such practices.
He stressed that Malaysia’s domestic certification schemes – the Malaysian Good Agricultural Practices (myGAP), which certifies farms on food safety, sustainability, and worker welfare, and myOrganic, which certifies organic farming without synthetic chemicals or genetically modified organisms (GMOs) – already set a high bar compared to regional peers.
“In Malaysia, I mentioned myGap and myOrganic, that’s already a very high standard. Thailand does not have myGap or myOrganic.
“That’s why in their market, they have a special division that does all the safety checks to see that there’s no E. coli, salmonella – they have to do that, whereas we don’t have to because already in the farm, we are applying a higher standard so that the food that we supply to the market is already safe for human consumption,” Isham said.
Asked if Malaysia was moving towards gradually eliminating poultry chlorine washes and ractopamine as part of higher food safety standards, Isham said improvements are ongoing.
“The work on improving standards is always there. It’s always a necessity because food security doesn’t only mean a sufficient supply of food but also the safety of food.
“So we’ve seen over time that the quality of the food we produce is of exceptional quality. That’s why we are exporting fish products to Dubai, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. The standards are there and it’s improving as we go, the technology, in terms of new types of vaccines and processes, so it’s an ongoing process,” he added.
Isham also noted that Malaysia’s poultry exports are largely focused on Singapore and regional markets, not the United States.
“We are not going to export our chicken to the US. It’s too far, logistics-wise. It is uneconomical,” he said, adding that Malaysia’s top exports to the US are instead cocoa and cocoa products worth RM1.05 billion.
According to OEC trade data, Malaysia exported RM108 million worth of poultry meat in 2024, mainly to Singapore (RM64 million), Thailand (RM16.2 million), Japan (RM13.4 million), Brunei (RM3.49 million), and the United Arab Emirates (RM3.49 million).
Agriculture and Food Security Minister Mohamad Sabu similarly dismissed concerns about foreign investment undermining food safety or halal integrity, saying standards are maintained.
“Halal standards are under the purview of Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, and KPKM always complies with the halal standards that have been set. Malaysia’s halal is really top in the world. Usually Malaysia’s halal is accepted globally, including in EU countries and the US,” the minister told reporters yesterday.
Isham added that Malaysia’s myGap and myOrganic standards have gained international recognition, citing recent requirements from Saudi Arabia for such certifications in agricultural exports.
“From the quality side, Malaysia has two standards that are highly regarded, myGap and myOrganic. If we look at the past two weeks, the Saudi government has required all agricultural exports to Saudi to carry standards like myGap and myOrganic.
“In Asean, Malaysia is among the countries that have these standards. So investors see Malaysia not only for the land they need, but also for the standards that are now highly respected,” he said.
Isham also revealed that an updated version of myGap will soon be launched, incorporating sustainability criteria, including carbon credit calculations, to improve both environmental standards and farmer income.
“In the near future, a new myGap standard will be announced that takes into account sustainability, including carbon credit calculations, which will not only increase farmers’ income but also better quality production and reduction of CO2,” he said.
CodeBlue reported Monday that while Malaysia’s decision to remove tariffs on 191 American agricultural products has sparked concern over the entry of so-called “chlorinated chicken” and hormone-treated beef into Malaysia, locally produced chicken is already permitted to be treated with a chlorine rinse at the end of the meat production process.
Malaysia also permits the limited use of ractopamine in pigs, but prohibits the controversial feed additive in ruminants (cattle, sheep, goats, and buffalo). Codex, the international Food Code, sets maximum residue limits (MRLs) for ractopamine in pigs and cattle. However, the EU has completely banned the use of ractopamine in all food-producing animals since 1996.
