Frequently Asked Questions

You may download a copy of the Food Regulations from our website.

Incidental constituents or contaminants in food refer to undesirable substances unavoidably present in food due to factors such as production, manufacture, treatment, packaging, transport and environmental contamination. Maximum limits for contaminants in food are stipulated under the Food Regulations to protect human health.

The Food Regulations do not stipulate test parameters for food.

Food traders have the responsibility to ensure that the food products they make available for sale in Singapore comply with the requirements under the Food Regulations.

The maximum residue limits (MRLs) for pesticides are stipulated under the Ninth Schedule of the Food Regulations .

For pesticides which do not have MRLs stipulated under the Ninth Schedule of the Food Regulations, the MRLs adopted by the Codex Alimentarius Commission are used as the standards. The URL for the “Codex Pesticide Residues in Food and Feed” is : http://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/standards/pestres/pesticides/en/
Pesticides of which MRLs have not been established both

Please refer to the SFA website for guidelines to register agricultural pesticides used in the commercial cultivation of plants in Singapore.

Sample submission can be either analytical standard or formulated product or both. We will inform you whether a sample submission is required after the application and dossier have been forwarded to the committee for evaluation.

The maximum limit for arsenic as stipulated under the Tenth Schedule of the Food Regulations refers to total arsenic, which includes both organic and inorganic arsenic.

For fermented food products, the total plate count of 100 000 CFU/g at 37°C for 48 hours under the Food Regulations would not apply, provided that the exceeding total count is contributed by the cultures allowed for addition to ferment the product.

You may refer to regulation 35 and the Eleventh Schedule of the Food Regulations for microbiological standards in food products.

Before a genetically modified (GM) food crop is allowed to be grown commercially for human consumption, the GM food crop has to undergo rigorous safety tests, carried out over many years. It will only be allowed to grow commercially when the safety tests show that the GM food crop is substantially equivalent to the conventional crop and is safe for human consumption. Food products made from such approved GM food crops are equally safe.

In Singapore, applications for the import or release of GM organisms (including GM food) are first evaluated by the Genetic Modification Advisory Committee (GMAC) in accordance with the GMACs Guidelines on the Release of Agriculture-related GM organisms. GMAC is a national committee established in 1999 with the objectives to oversee and advise on the research and development, production, use, handling and release of GMOs in Singapore. Upon completion of the safety evaluation, GMAC will make its recommendations to the Singapore Food Agency (SFA), the national food safety authority. GMACs endorsement of the GMO will be one of the criteria that SFA takes into consideration when granting the final approval of the application.

GM corn and soybean, which have been approved in many countries including the USA, Canada, Australia and member countries of the European Union, are very likely incorporated into various processed foods. Since we import food from these countries, it is possible that such foods are sold here in Singapore. However, these foods are safe for consumption because they are regulated like any other foods in meeting the same, if not more, rigorous safety standards.

Food imported from Japan that is available in the market is safe for consumption.

Since 25 Mar 2011, all consignments of fruits and vegetables, seafood, meat, milk and milk products imported from Japan have been subjected to hold-and-test. This means that the products will only be released for sale when test results show that there is no radioactive contamination. If radioactive contaminants are detected in any sample, the affected shipment will be disposed of.

The SFA has suspended on the import of fruits and vegetables to include the prefectures of Kanagawa, Tokyo, Saitama, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma and Chiba. The SFA had also suspended the import of milk, milk products, seafood and meat from Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi and Gunma.

The impact on Singapore's food supply is expected to be minimal. In 2010, seafood imported from Japan constitutes less than 2% of our total seafood imports by quantity. The import of other food products from Japan is negligible (less than 0.5%).

The public could visit the Japan Earthquake microsite at http://www.gov.sg/japanquake for latest updates and information.