Two Public Consultations on Requirements on Licensing, Food Import and Export, Food Marketing, Health Promotion in Proposed Food Safety and Security Bill

The Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (“MSE“) and the Singapore Food Agency (“SFA“) will be introducing the Food Safety and Security Bill (“Bill“) which aims to consolidate food-related legislation from eight existing Acts[1] into a single Act, as well as introduce new powers to enhance SFA’s regulatory functions to better protect consumers and strengthen Singapore’s food safety and security regime.  

MSE and SFA have launched a series of public consultation exercises on the draft provisions in the Bill covering the following aspects:

1. Defined food and pre-market approval;
2. Provision of non-packaged drinking water;
3. Food businesses;
4. Import, export and transhipment;
5. Agri-food production inputs (animal feed and plant pesticides); and
6. Strengthening resilience of the food supply.

In March 2024, MSE and SFA launched two public consultation exercises to seek feedback on the draft provisions concerning items 1 and 2. Our write-up on the consultation exercises titled “MSE and SFA Consult on Draft Provisions in Food Safety and Security Bill Concerning (i) Defined Food and Pre-market Approval; and (ii) Provision of Non-packaged Drinking Water” can be accessed here.

More recently, another two public consultations have been launched to gather feedback on the provisions relating to items 3 through 6, as well as those concerning food marketing and health promotion. The public consultations ended on 29 August 2024 and 6 September 2024, respectively. The key features of the Bill covering these aspects include the following: 

1. Food Businesses

• Expansion of the definition of food businesses. The expanded definition will cover businesses involved in primary production (i.e. farms), in addition to non-retail and retail businesses. This is for the purpose of including all food businesses – whether retail, non-retail, or primary production – under a single regulatory framework.
• Introduction of the concept of “supply” of food. The concept extends beyond the “sale” of food to include food donations, given that food safety risks exist for both sold and donated food.
• Licensable food businesses. Higher-risk food businesses will be required to be licensed by SFA. Carrying on a licensable food business without an SFA food business licence is an offence.
• Food safety measures. The Bill will require licensable food businesses to implement measures to ensure food safety and sustainable production. Farm food businesses must put in place a Farm Management Plan, and non-farm businesses a Food Control Plan.
• Traceability obligations. Currently, SFA does not require the implementation of a traceability system to facilitate a quick response to recall food in the event of any food safety incident. The Bill will now mandate prescribed licensable food businesses to keep records for traceability and recall purposes.

2. Import, Export and Transhipment

• Two-tier regulatory regime and the concept of “controlled items”. The Bill will introduce the concept of “controlled items” subject to import, export or transhipment control. The two-tier regulatory regime currently implemented by SFA will apply to all items listed as controlled items in the Bill. This means any person/business that imports, exports or tranships controlled items in the course of business will be required to (i) obtain a licence, and (ii) apply for a permit for every consignment imported into or exported and transhipped from Singapore.
• Procurement plan. The Bill will require licensees to have plans to manage disruptions in the import of controlled items.

3. Agri-production Inputs (Animal Feed and Plant Pesticides)

• Clear delineation of regulatory oversight between SFA and National Parks Board (“NParks”) for animal feed regulations. Currently, the Feeding Stuffs Act (“FSA“) regulates the manufacture and processing for sale of animal feed. The SFA Director-General, Food Administration regulates the manufacture and processing for sale of feed for food-producing animals, while NParks officers regulate the manufacture of feed for non food-producing animals (e.g. pet food). Under the Bill, the FSA will be revised to only apply to regulating the manufacture and processing for sale of animal feed for non-food producing animals. The administration of the FSA will now be transferred from SFA to NParks. SFA will continue to regulate the manufacture and processing of animal feed for food-producing animals.
• Animal feed production licence. Animal feed production for food producing animals will require a licence; producing this type of feed without a licence constitutes an offence.

4. Strengthening Resilience of Food Supply

• Minimum Stockpiling Requirement (“MSR”). MSR is a mandate under the Bill to stockpile certain food items or agri-food production inputs for a relevant period to ensure food supply continuity. In this regard, the Bill will allow SFA to collect data to monitor agri-food supply chains and resilience.

5. Food Marketing

• Refinements on (i) what constitutes “advertisement” and (ii) who may be considered “advertisers”. The refinements will be introduced to provide clarity on the scope of the law given the evolving marketing landscape in Singapore and beyond. The new definition of “advertisement” will expand to cover various forms and media of marketing such as digital platforms. Persons who authorise the public communication of an advertisement will be considered advertisers who must comply with the advertisement requirements in the Bill.

6. Health Promotion

• Empowering Minister of Health (“Minister”) to make regulations for health promotion. This includes allowing the Ministry of Health (“MOH“) to continue to implement (i) the current requirements on Nutri-Grade labelling; and (ii) the advertising prohibitions aimed at reducing sugar consumption.
• Offences and enforcement powers. The Bill will create offences for breaching the regulations that may be issued under the Bill in relation to health promotion. It will also authorise enforcement officers to issue remedial notices requiring errant persons to remedy a contravention.

Click on the following links for more information:

Available on the SFA website at www.sfa.gov.sg:

• Consultation on Draft Provisions in the Food Safety and Security Bill
• Segment A: Provisions related to food businesses
• Segment B: Import, export and transhipment
• Segment C: Agri-food production inputs (animal feed and pesticides)
• Segment D: Strengthening resilience of food supply
• Consultation on Draft Provisions in the Food Safety and Security Bill – Food Marketing and Health Promotion (available on the SFA website at sfa.gov.sg)

Available on the REACH website at www.reach.gov.sg:

• Provisions of the Bill on (i) Food businesses, (ii) Import, export and transhipment; (iii) Agri-food production inputs; and (iv) Food supply resilience
• Provisions of the Bill on Food Marketing and Health Promotion Draft (refer to Annex I of the Consultation Paper)

[1] Animals and Birds Act, Control of Plants Act, Environmental Public Health Act, Feeding Stuffs Act, Fisheries Act, Sale of Food Act, Wholesale Meat and Fish Act, and Price Control Act