New standard for edible bird's nest products

Singapore has launched its first national standard to authenticate the quality of edible bird’s nest (EBN), a billion-dollar delicacy in Asia. The new standard is designed to strengthen consumer trust and level the playing field for producers in a market long plagued by counterfeits and substitutes.

The Singapore Standard (SS) 718 was jointly developed by the Duke-NUS Centre of Regulatory Excellence – Standards Development Organisation (CoRE-SDO) and Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG), through the Singapore Standards Council (SSC).

The standard uses near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy to provide an accurate, rapid, reproducible and non-destructive onsite method of authenticating EBN.

NIR spectroscopy measures how infrared light is absorbed, reflected or transmitted by a material to extract information about the material. This contrasts against conventional methods of authentication, which require EBN producers to send samples to testing facilities and results in wastage.

The SS 718 has been developed from research involving Nanyang Polytechnic’s Standard Operating Procedure for the authentication of edible bird’s nest, which has previously demonstrated the efficacy of NIR spectroscopy in food authentication and safety.

The standard provides recommendations on the minimum specifications of the portable NIR that should be used for the authentication, details the procedure to collect the NIR spectra, and provides the steps for data processing and assessment of the authenticity of the EBN sample.

Dr Henry Leung, Senior Specialist, Nanyang Polytechnic, who led the committee of experts in the drafting of the standard, said: “Standardised testing methods like SS 718 are setting a new benchmark in EBN authentication, complementing existing gold-standard methods. This rapid, onsite solution enables faster decision-making when advanced analytical facilities are unavailable, thereby strengthening consumer trust and trade integrity.”

SS 718 was developed by the Working Group on Authentication of Edible Bird’s Nest under the Singapore Standards Council, which comprises representatives from the government, testing and certification bodies, educational and research institutions, and industry stakeholders.

Image credit: iStock.com/michael nero jonnes