On 15 March 2024, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) announced the proposed enactment of the Food Safety and Security Bill (FSSB), which will consolidate food-related legislation from Singapore's eight existing acts and introduce new regulatory measures to strengthen the food safety and security regime, with a view to better protecting consumers and preserving the resilience of Singapore's food supply. 

The FSSB will address six major themes (specific food products and pre-market approvals, provision of non-packaged drinking water, enhancing food supply resilience, certain agri-food inputs (animalfeeds and pesticides), importation, exportation and transhipment, and food businesses) on a step-by-step basis. Currently, the SFA has issued the first public consultation on the draft regulation on "Specified Foods and Pre-market Approval", which includes the following elements.

1 Relevant Terms and Definitions

1) Specified Food

Means a new food or a food containing a component of a new food for which premarket approval has not been granted; a genetically modified food or a food containing a component of a genetically modified food for which premarket approval has not been granted; and an insect in any form or a food containing an insect component;

2) Genetically modified food

Means a transformation through the use of in vitro nucleic acid technology or cell fusion technology that results in the production of an organism that contains a combination that is unlikely to have genetic material, a combination that is unlikely to occur naturally or through conventional breeding and selection;

3) Novelty Food

Means, whether within or outside Singapore, a) a substance (which may consist of, be isolated from, or derived from cells, originating from animals, plants, cultures or tissue cultures of micro-organisms, fungi or algae) that has not been used in the production of a food for at least 20 years previously; b) a substance that has not been used in the production of a food for at least 20 years previously, either through the origin of a food that consists of, is isolated from, or is made of mineral materials or contains engineered nanomaterials or food manufacturing processes, preparation or preservation techniques consisting of engineered nanomaterials that have not been used in the production of food for at least 20 years previously.

2. Specified food products imported or domestically produced in Singapore must obtain an official licence before they can be marketed and sold, or face legal sanctions. Restrictions on advertisements of specified food products and penalties for offences are also stipulated.

3. Provides for the application for pre-market approval, the granting of pre-market approval, the validity of pre-market approval, the cancellation of pre-market approval, restrictions on the transfer of pre-market approval, and the definitions of "sale" and "supply". In particular, enterprises applying for licences must provide relevant supporting materials for official verification of the safety of the food concerned.

4. The competent authority in Singapore will conduct a centralised assessment of specific food permit applications once every two months. The draft "Specified Foods and Pre-market Approval", which has been published for comment until 14 May 2024, will form part of the Singapore Food Safety and Security Bill.

Customs Reminder

Domestic food exporters to Singapore are highly concerned about the progress and specific requirements of Singapore's Food Safety and Security Bill. In order to effectively safeguard their legitimate rights and interests, relevant domestic food enterprises may first conduct self-checks against the public consultation on the six thematic draft regulations to be released one after another during the validity period, and provide reasonable feedback, so as to be well-prepared for the formal implementation of the Food Safety and Security Bill. 

After the Food Safety and Security Bill is officially released, relevant domestic food enterprises should promptly benchmark the requirements of the bill and carry out whole-process control from procurement, production and sales to ensure that the quality of food products imported into Singapore is in full compliance with the provisions of the bill, so as to avoid affecting the subsequent sales of imported food products in the Singapore market.