SINGAPORE – White spots found on the underside of prawns is part of their reproductive organs, and not due to a viral disease, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) has clarified.
AVA said in a Facebook post on Friday (April 29) night that it had provided the wrong information to a consumer earlier.
Ms Winnie Tan had shared on Facebook on Wednesday two photos of prawns with white spots on them. She had bought them from Pontian, Johor.
They were captioned with a reply from the AVA: “The whitish material is caused by the infection of white spot disease. This is a viral disease which attacked the shrimp. You may wish to discard the shrimp away.”
Her post was shared more than 2,700 times.
But AVA on Friday clarified that the prawns were safe to eat.
It said in a Facebook post: “We apologise for providing the wrong information prematurely, before investigations are complete. The initial assessment was based on photographic evidence provided by the consumer.
“However, subsequent investigations based on samples collected have determined that the white spots are actually part of the reproductive organ, and are not due to a viral disease.”
It added that “there is no cause for alarm”.
Ms Tan replied to AVA’s post: “Thank you for your further investigation and clarification.”
This article was first published on April 29, 2016.
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