SINGAPORE – Customers who recently bought a type of instant Chinese bread soup from Scarlett Supermarket might have been shocked to find a Class A controlled drug on its list of ingredients.

The instant meal, called Liu Yi Pao Xi’an Paomo – a type of lamb soup with chunks of flat bread – listed methamphetamine on its ingredients list.

But Scarlett Supermarket general manager Lawrence Ong told The Straits Times that the product did not contain the highly addictive drug, and its list of ingredients had been translated wrongly by the Chinese manufacturer.

The ingredient that was translated wrongly was glacial acetic acid, a food additive used as a flavour enhancer and preservative.

In an e-mailed response, he said there was an error in product translation.

An April 6 letter from the product’s Chinese manufacturer, Shaanxi Qinhou Food Technology, seen by The Straits Times, said the Chinese firm had sent out a batch of products on Feb 12 with the error.

Mr Ong said all the affected products have been recalled from the shelves of its outlet at Lot One Shoppers’ Mall in Choa Chu Kang, and sent back to the warehouse.

The supermarket, which sells products from China, has 14 other outlets across the island, including in Yishun and Jurong East.

The Singapore Food Agency has said on its website that food label is one of the most important and direct means for sellers to communicate product information to buyers.

“Food importers, distributors, manufacturers, producers, packers and retailers should ensure that their pre-packed food is labelled correctly before making the product available for sale in Singapore,” it said.