Frequently Asked Questions

You can find more information on the labelling requirements here.

You do not need to submit your product label for approval.

Food traders have the responsibility in ensuring that your food product label fully complies with the requirements under the Food Regulations.

To assist you, SFA has made available A Guide to Food Labelling and Advertisements, which provides you with explanation and checklist on how to comply with the labelling requirements for your food product. Following this, you may want highlight the specific requirements you need further clarification on, so that we may better assist you.

Alternatively, you may wish to approach any of the appointed food labelling consultants in our website (under “Overview”) for consultation service. Please note that consultancy fees may apply depending on service provided.

SFA does not provide label vetting services.

Food traders have the responsibility in ensuring that your food product label fully complies with the requirements under the Food Regulations.

To assist you, SFA has made available A Guide to Food Labelling and Advertisements, which provides you with explanation and checklist on how to comply with the labelling requirements for your food product. Following this, you may want highlight the specific requirements you need further clarification on, so that we may better assist you.

Alternatively, you may wish to approach any of the appointed food labelling consultants in our website (under “Overview”) for consultation service. Please note that consultancy fees may apply depending on service provided.

The following basic information should be provided in English on a prepacked food label:

• common name or description of food;
• complete statement of ingredients (in descending order of proportion by weight in which they are present);
• volume or net weight;
• name and address of:

(i) local manufacturer, packer or vendor (for locally manufactured food); or
(ii) local importer, distributor or agent and the name of the country of origin (for imported food).

Items (a), (b) and (c) should be in printed letters not less than 1.5mm in height.

More information can be found in the Guide to Food Labelling and Advertisements.

The labelling requirements under the Food Regulations are currently applied to prepacked food products for sale to consumers. They do not apply to non-retail containers (i.e. for supply to food manufacturers or food services for further use).

Food traders may wish to include information of the food on the non-retail containers on a voluntary basis.

The labelling requirements stipulated under the Food Regulations are mandatory for prepacked food products made available for retail sale to consumers.

If the individually packed products are packed in an outer package, to be sold as multi-pack it would be sufficient for the outer packaging to meet the mandatory labelling requirements, as required by the Food Regulations.

Under the Food Regulations, food weighed, counted or measured in the presence of the purchaser; and food which is loosely packed in the retailer’s premises are exempted from the general labelling requirements under regulation 5 of the said Regulations.

The mandatory labelling requirements under the Food Regulations must be declared in English text.

The Food Regulations do not restrict the use of other languages in addition to the English text on food labels as long as the non-English text do not contradict with the information as declared in English and do not contravene the said Regulations. 

The use of sticker labels to incorporate the mandatory labelling information in English on the labels of your food product is acceptable as long as the sticker label used is firmly attached on the product at all times, and it does not cover other essential information required under the Food Regulations.

The information made available on the sticker labels should not contradict with those declared on the original label. Please note that tampering of date marking (i.e. expiry date) declared on the original label, is prohibited under the Food Regulations.

Products using names/descriptions that have a standard specified under Part IV of the Food Regulations, must meet the respective requirements to qualify for the use of the names.

Non-English names of the food may be used as long as these non-English names are accompanied by the English name or description [e.g. “Siew mai” (meat dumpling), “keropok” (crackers)]

Under the Food Regulations, all ingredients and additives used in prepacked food must be declared in descending order of the proportion by weight in which they are present. In general, you may follow the steps below when declaring the statement of ingredients for your products.

Step 1: List down all ingredients used in food products in their exact identity and arrange them in descending order by percent weight of finished products
Step 2: Identify compound ingredients used. Find out what the components of the compound ingredients by checking with suppliers or any documents provided by suppliers such as product specification sheet
Step 3: Find out if any shorter forms (eg. generic terms under the First Schedule of the Food Regulations, INS, E numbers) can be used. Food additives may be declared using either their exact chemical name, INS/E numbers. We have posted the list of permitted food additives with their respective INS numbers on the Food Additives Search function for your reference. You may also consider the use of the permitted generic terms listed under the First Schedule for a category of food ingredient/additives.
Step 4: Check if the allergen foods been declared

Food additives can be declared using permitted generic terms under the First Schedule of the Food Regulations. In the absence of a permitted generic term, the food additives must be declared using its exact chemical name or its corresponding INS/E number.

No. Under the Food Regulations, all ingredients and additives used in prepacked food must be declared in descending order of the proportion by weight in which they are present.

It is a requirement under the Food Regulations to declare the presence of all food ingredients and additives used in prepacked processed food products on their labels, in descending order by proportion of weight in which they are present.

The additives used may be declared either by their exact chemical names, INS/E number or permitted generic terms, such as "flavouring", "stabiliser" and "emulsifier". The list of permitted generic terms for use in the declaration of ingredients are stipulated under the First Schedule of the Food Regulations. 

It is not a requirement to declare the technological functions of the food additives under the statement of ingredients.

The additives used may be declared either by their exact chemical names, INS/E number or permitted generic terms, such as "flavouring", "stabiliser" and "emulsifier". The list of permitted generic terms for use in the declaration of ingredients are stipulated under the First Schedule of the Food Regulations.

Under regulation 5(4)(b) of the Food Regulations, it is not a requirement to declare the addition of water under the statement of ingredients.

It is a requirement under regulation 5(4)(c) of the Food Regulations to declare the addition of the colouring, tartrazine, using one of the following statement (or other equivalent terms), under the ingredient listing.

• tartrazine;
• colour (102);
• colour (FD&C Yellow #5).

In principle, SFA is agreeable with the recommendations of Codex on the declaration of processing aids in the statement of ingredients, as laid out in the following standards.

• Codex General Standard for Labelling of Food Additives When Sold as Such (CODEX STAN 107-1981) and
• Codex General Standard for the Labelling of Prepackaged Food (CODEX STAN 1-1985)

In the absence of a definition for "processing aids" under the Food Regulations, the current definition for "processing aids" as stipulated in the Codex Procedural Manual may be taken as a reference –

• “Processing aid means any substance or material, not including apparatus or utensils, and not consumed as a food ingredient by itself, intentionally used in the processing of raw materials, foods or its ingredients to fulfil a certain technological purpose during treatment or processing and which may result in the non-intentional but unavoidable presence of residues or derivatives in the final product.”

Your company must be able to justify for the presence of undeclared processing aids in the final food product, as and when necessary.

Please refer to the Guide to Food Labelling and Advertisements for more information on labelling requirements for prepacked food.

It is a requirement under regulation 5(4)(ea) of the Food Regulations to declare the presence of ingredients that may cause hypersensitivity to individual, under the statement of ingredients for prepackaged food products. This would include the declaration of the following ingredients in prepacked food product:

• Cereals containing gluten (for example, wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt or their hybridised strains and their products);
• crustacean (for example shrimp, crab, lobster) and crustacean products;
• eggs and egg products;
• fish and fish products;
• peanuts, soybeans and their products;
• milk and milk products (including lactose);
• tree nuts (for example, cashew nuts, macadamia nuts, pecan nuts, brazil nuts, pistachio nuts) and nut products; and
• sulphites in concentrates of 10mg/kg or more.

More information on how to declare the presence of these ingredients can be found in the Guide to Food Labelling and Advertisements.

All ingredients and additives used in food products should be declared under the statement of ingredients, in descending order by the proportion of weight in which they are present.

You are not required to declare the presence of the ingredients that are known to cause hypersensitivity to individuals in a separate statement as long as the presence of these ingredients in your food products are fully reflected under the product’s statement of ingredients.

More information can be found in the Guide to Food Labelling and Advertisements. 

The presence of ingredients that may cause hypersensitivity to individuals in your alcoholic beverage must be declared on the product label, even though regulation 6(3) of the Food Regulations exempts alcoholic beverages from having to carry a statement of ingredients.

More information can be found in the Guide to Food Labelling and Advertisements.

Coconuts where referring to the fruit of the palm (Cocos nucifera), are not generally considered to be tree nuts, and does not fall under the list of ingredients that would cause hypersensitivity to individuals, under regulation 5(4)(ea) of the Food Regulations.

However, all ingredients and additives used in the prepacked food must be declared under the statement of ingredients in descending order of the proportion by weight in which they are present, under regulation 5(4)(b) of the Food Regulations. Therefore, the addition of coconut ingredients in prepacked food must still be declared accordingly.

Sesame seeds are not generally considered does not fall under the list of ingredients that would cause hypersensitivity to individuals, under regulation 5(4)(ea) of the Food Regulations.

However, all ingredients and additives used in the prepacked food must be declared under the statement of ingredients in descending order of the proportion by weight in which they are present, under regulation 5(4)(b) of the Food Regulations. Therefore, the addition of sesame ingredients in prepacked food must still be declared accordingly.

The Food Regulations requires net quantity of the food present in the package to be declared on the product label. In the case of solid food, the net quantity must be declared in terms of its net weight. For example, “Net weight: 50g”.

The number of pieces of food present, may be included voluntarily, in addition to the net weight declared. For example, “Net weight: 10g x 10 pieces”.

The Food Regulations requires net quantity of the food present in the package to be declared on the product label. In the case of solid food, the net quantity must be declared in terms of its net weight.

It is not acceptable for net quantity to be declare in a range, for example, “Net weight: 500g ­+ 10g”.

Traders may declare the minimum quantity of the food present in the package, or adopt the Average Quantity System.

In the case when net quantity of the food (i.e. solid food) is declared as weight measure, suitable words like “net” shall be used to describe the manner of measure. For example, “Net: 500g or Net weight: 500g”.

The symbol "e" is generally used in European Union to indicate the net weight of a product. It is therefore acceptable to declare the net weight of a product as "500g e" if the symbol is intended to reflect net weight. 

You may refer to the section under “Declaration of net content in package” of the Guide to Food Labelling and Advertisements for more information.

For frozen food that has been glazed with ice, both the “gross weight” and “net weight” should be declared. The net weight declared for such product must exclude the weight of the ice glazing. For example, the net content declaration of glazed sutchi fish fillet will be declared as “Gross weight of fish: 1000g; Net weight of fish: 800g”.

More information can be found in the Guide to Food Labelling and Advertisements.

The Food Regulations require imported prepacked food products to be labelled with the name of the country of origin, and the name and address of the importer, distributor or agent in Singapore.

The additional declaration of the overseas manufacturer for imported food products is voluntary. 

For imported food:
The Food Regulations requires imported prepacked food to be declared with the name and address of the local importer, distributor or agent for the product. Hence, the declaration of the Singapore distributor’s name and address would suffice.

For locally manufactured food:
The Food Regulations requires locally manufactured prepacked food to be declared with the name and address of the local manufacturer, packer or vendor for the product. Hence, the declaration of the Singapore distributor’s name and address would suffice.

The Food Regulations requires locally manufactured prepacked food to be declared with the name and address of the local manufacturer, packer or vendor for the product.

In view that the product is not manufactured by your company, it would not be appropriate for your company to be declared as the manufacturer of the product. Instead, your company name and address may be declared as the product owner (e.g. “Manufactured for: {insert name and address of your company}” or “Manufactured under the rights of {insert name and address of your company}”)

The Food Regulations requires imported prepacked food to be labelled with the name and address of the importer, distributor or agent for the food. The said regulations do not specify the headers that must be closely accompanied by the name and address of your company.

Please ensure that the respective headers used are accurate and that the product is clearly labelled with the name of the country of origin.

Under regulation 5 of the Food Regulations, the name and address of the local importer, distributor or agent must be declared on the label of prepacked food.

Telephone numbers, facsimile, email address, company’s website address and post office addresses alone, are not acceptable.

The name and address of the company or business declared as the importer, distributor or agent on the label for the prepacked food, must be registered with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA). 

It is acceptable to use sticker labels to incorporate the mandatory labelling information (including the name and address of your Singapore company) in English, on the labels of your food product, as long as the sticker label used is firmly attached on the product at all times; and it does not cover other essential information required under the Food Regulations.

The sticker labels may be incorporated after the products are imported, before they are made available for sale in Singapore.

The requirement to declare country of origin for the food under the Food Regulations is for traceability purposes.

The country of origin refers to the last processing place of the food. In Singapore’s context, it would be country where the handling of the food last took place (ie. packing into primary packaging). 

The Food Regulations require the country of origin of the food product to be declared on the labels of prepacked food. The country of origin is the last processing place of the food.

Food products that are not manufactured in Singapore, do not qualify for the use of the terms, "Made in Singapore" or "Product of Singapore".

The Food Regulations require the country of origin of the food product to be declared on the labels of prepacked food. The country of origin is the last processing place of the food.

To qualify as a “Product of Singapore” / “Made in Singapore”, the product should undergo significant manufacturing process, which usually changes the nature of the original product, in a licensed premise in Singapore.

Food that are imported in bulk and packed in Singapore only, may be labelled as “Packed in Singapore” as the country of origin.

The Food Regulations require the country of origin of the food product to be declared on the labels of prepacked food. The country of origin is the last processing place of the food.

As such, a product produced in country A and packed in country B may be labelled as “Product of country A. Packed in country B”, or in this case, “Packed in country B”.

The Food Regulations require for prepacked food (including prepacked raw meat) to be declared with the name of the country of origin.

The country of origin would refer to the last processing place of the final product (in your case, where the products are processed and packed in Singapore).

As for the exact wordings to declare both the origin of the live chicken and the country of origin for the final raw meat product, your company has to ensure that the manner of declaration is truthful. Some common examples as described by you may include “Slaughtered and packed in Singapore”; or “Country of origin: {here insert the country where the chickens were raised}, Processed and packed in Singapore”.

A nutrition information panel (NIP) provides information on the nutritional quality of the food, for example, calories, protein, fat, carbohydrates. 

A nutrition information panel (NIP) provides information on the nutritional quality of the food, for example, calories, protein, fat, carbohydrates.
Under the Food Regulations, nutrition labelling or nutrition information panel (NIP) is only required for:

• prepacked food products that carry a nutrition and health claim;
• edible fats and oils; and
• special purpose food.

The information to be declared in the NIP includes the four core nutrients (i.e. energy, protein, fat, and carbohydrates), the nutrient which a nutrition claims is made on; and trans fatty acid content for edible fats and oils.

The NIP can be declared in per 100g or per serving basis. NIP declared in per serving basis should also be accompanied by the total number of servings per package and serving size of the food.

More information on nutrition labelling can be found in the Guide to Food Labelling and Advertisements.

Nutrition information panel (NIP) is only required for:

• prepacked food products that carry a nutrition and health claim;
• edible fats and oils; and
• special purpose food.

The information to be declared in the NIP includes the four core nutrients (i.e. energy, protein, fat, and carbohydrates), the nutrient which a nutrition claim is made on; and trans fatty acid content for edible fats and oils.

The NIP may be declared in the format as specified under the Twelfth Schedule of the Food Regulations, or other forms that may be acceptable by the Director-General. It should be in a manner that is clear to consumers.

More information on nutrition labelling can be found in our Guide to Food Labelling and Advertisements.

The nutrition information declared on the food product label must be accurate, when verified by laboratory analysis report.

Under regulation 9 of the Food Regulations, all claims made on the food product must be truthful. Hence, you should ensure that the nutrition information declared on the product label is verifiable by a nutrient analysis test report.

The Food Regulations do not specify the acceptable variation for the nutrients declared, when compared to the nutrient analysis test report. However, you may refer to Section B for Nutrient Analysis and Nutrient Verification Criteria of the Handbook on Nutrition Labelling, published by the Health Promotion Board for declaration of nutrition information.

Under regulation 8A(4) of the Food Regulations, prepacked food with a total surface area of less than 100 square centimetres (<100cm2) do not have to labelled with the full nutrition information panel, provided that:

• a statement of the quantity of each nutrient which a nutrition claim is made on is declared; or
• a statement of the energy yield of the food (caloric value) is declared, if a claim that the food is free of sugar or the claim is on the energy value of the food.

A voluntary declaration of nutrition information panel (NIP) is not regarded as a nutrition claim. However, companies should still ensure that the information provided under the NIP are supported by nutrient analysis report.

More information on nutrition labelling can be found in our Guide to Food Labelling and Advertisements.

The Food Regulations prohibit the use of the following on food labels and advertisements:

• claims or suggestions that is false, misleading or deceptive, or is likely to create an erroneous impression regarding the value, merit or safety of the food;
• claims or suggestions that a food has therapeutic or prophylactic actions, or implies in any way that it can prevent, alleviate or cure any disease or condition affecting the human body. For example, "To prevent or cure cancer" and "For longevity";
• claims or suggestions that could be interpreted as advice of a medical nature from any person. For example, " Recommended by doctors / dieticians";
• claims or suggestions that health or improved physical condition/performance can be achieved by consuming a food. For example, "Improve performance" / "Enhance beauty".

Regulation 254 of the also restricts the use of nutrition claims, and prohibits the use of claims on health effects, on infant formula. 

A nutrition claim is a representation that suggests or implies that a food has a nutritive property, whether in general or specific and whether expressed affirmatively or negatively, with reference to the following:

• Energy
• Salt, sodium or potassium
• Amino acids, carbohydrates, cholesterol, fats, fatty acids, fibre, protein, starch or sugars;
• Vitamins or minerals; or
• Any other nutrients.

Nutrition claim is broadly grouped into:

• nutrient content (e.g. "Source of protein", "High in fibre", "Low in fat", "Cholesterol free" and "Sugar free"); and
• nutrient comparative claims (e.g. “Higher in Protein”, “Lower in fat”)

The criteria for the use of nutrition claims can be found in the Vitamins and Nutrients Calculator. 

To claim that the food product for general consumption is free from lactose, the food product must be labelled with a nutrition information panel, declared with the caloric value, and amounts of protein, fat, carbohydrates, as well as the amount of lactose present in the food. The lactose content of the food should not exceed 0.5g lactose in per 100g (or 100ml for liquid) of the food.

The Food Regulations currently do not specify the requirements for the use of “low GI” claim on food products. In principle, all claims made on food products must be truthful and can be substantiated.

Companies should ensure that the claim, “low GI” made on food products is supported by relevant established studies. 

The ‘Healthier Choice Symbol’ (HCS) is awarded by the Health Promotion Board (HPB) under the HCS Programme. More information on the requirements and application procedure for the HCS is available in the HPB website.  

The Handbook on Nutrition Labelling is published by the Health Promotion Board (HPB), and can be downloaded from the HPB website at: https://www.hpb.gov.sg/food-beverage/healthier-choice-symbol

The Food Regulations do not provide definition of “health claim”.

Under the international food standards established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission, “health claim”, in general, refers to the claim on the relationship between a food/constituent and health. Health claims are generally grouped into three categories:

• Nutrient function claims – describes physiological role of nutrient in growth, development and normal functions of the body (maintenance) (e.g. “calcium helps build strong bones”);
• Other function claims – describes specific health benefits of a food constituent (excluding nutrients). (e.g. “Inulin is a probiotic that helps supports healthy digestive system”)
• reduction of disease risk claims (disease risk reduction claims / nutrient specific diet-related health claims) – describes the consumption of a food/food constituents in a total diet, in relation to reduced risk of developing a disease or health condition (e.g. ““Plant sterols/stanols have been shown to lower/reduce blood cholesterol. High blood cholesterol is a risk factor in the development of coronary heart disease.”)

In Singapore, only the list of permitted health claims under the Guide to Food Labelling and Advertisements and regulation 9A of the Food Regulations, can be used on food products that meet the respective criteria.

The criteria for the use of the health claims is also available in our Vitamins and Nutrients Calculator.

Food traders who wish to apply for a new health claim on their food product, may submit completed application form (as attached) with the relevant scientific papers for review.

The process of the application may take up to 9 months or longer, depending on factors like the complexity of the claim, or the need to gazette the claim under the Food Regulations.

More information may be found in the Guide to Food Labelling and Advertisements.

Under regulation 9B(5) of the Food Regulations, food products that are claimed to be organically produced (i.e. in your case, “organic”), must be certified as organic under an inspection and certification system —

• that complies with section 6.3 of the Codex Guidelines for the Production, Processing, Labelling and Marketing of Organically Produced Foods, GL 32-1999; or
• that substantially complies with the guidelines mentioned in sub paragraph (a) and is acceptable to the Director- General as being a suitable system for the certification of organic food.

Please ensure that the claim, “organic” for the food product you sell in Singapore, is supported by a valid organic certification. The certificate has to be submitted only upon request by the authority at any point of sale of the product.

Under regulation 9B(5) of the Food Regulations, food products may be labelled as being organically produced (for example with words like “organic” or its equivalence), as long as the claim is supported by a valid certificate issued by an authorised competent certification body.

If your intention is to only claim that one of the ingredients used in the prepacked food is organically produced, please ensure that the claim is not presented in a manner that would lead consumers to think that the whole prepacked food is “organic”, and that the ingredient that is claimed to be “organic” is supported by a valid certification.

The Food Regulations currently do not specify the criteria for the use of the claim, "gluten free" for food products. However, companies should ensure that all claims made on the food they sell, are truthful and not misleading.

Companies may refer to the Standard for Foods for Special Dietary Use for Persons Intolerant to Gluten (CODEX STAN 118-1979) established by the international food standards setting body, Codex Alimentarius Commission, for guidance on the use of the claim.

The onus is on your company to ensure that the food product you sell, is free from genetically modified organisms (GMO), and that the claim can be substantiated. 

The Singapore Food Regulations do not have specific labelling requirements for genetically modified (GM) foods. However, GM foods are regulated like any other foods in meeting the same rigorous safety standards. GM foods, like all other food products, must also meet the general labelling requirements for prepacked food stipulated under the Food Regulations.  

GM food labelling is a complex issue and so far, international consensus has not been reached.

The Singapore Genetic Modification Advisory Committee (GMAC) has also set up a subcommittee to monitor international developments on the matter and to formulate a labelling regime that will be both practical and meaningful. Meanwhile, it is accepted by most countries that labelling is not for food safety reasons but to provide consumers with choice. GMAC and SFA will work to ensure that GM foods commercially available are safe for consumption.

The Food Regulations do not specify the criteria for the use of claims to suggest that a food is free or not added with monosodium glutamate. In general, traders have to ensure that all claims made on their food product label are truthful.

Administratively, food products carrying the claims "No MSG" or “No MSG Added” for food products should not contain free glutamate at levels more than 1% (w/w).

The Food Regulations do not specify criteria for the use of claims to suggest that a food is free from pesticides. In general, the Food Regulations prohibits the use of claims that are false and misleading.

In view of the above, companies who intend to claim that their food is free from pesticides, must ensure that the claim is truthful, where no pesticides are used throughout the farming process of the produce; and that pesticides are not detected in the food.

The onus is on food traders to ensure that the claims made on the food you sell, are truthful and can be substantiated. As such, you should ensure that the food is not added with any preservatives, and are not detected with any of the Class II chemical preservatives under the Food Regulations. 

Food products made available in Singapore are not allowed to contain antibiotic residues. Hence, the use of the claim, “antibiotics free”, or words of similar nature, would create false uniqueness, and is not allowed.

However, SFA notes that traders may deliberately source food from farmers that take extra effort to ensure that no antibiotics were administered throughout the lifespan of the animal (i.e. from birth to slaughter), due to market demand. To recognise the farmers’ efforts to differentiate their production method and to protect consumers’ interest, claims to indicate that the animals are raised without antibiotics (e.g. “raised without antibiotics”) are allowed provided that the trader can provide documentary proof to substantiate for the use of the claim.

Please refer to the SFA website for more information on the use of the claims.

The use of claims to suggest that a meat and fish product is free from hormones (for example, “hormones free” or raised without hormones”) is not allowed. This is because the use of such claims would give the impression that meat and fish do not contain hormones, which is not true, since meat and fish would contain naturally occurring hormones.

Please refer to the SFA website for more information on the use of the claims.

Meat and meat products that bear these claims are not any safer than those products available in the Singapore that do not carry such claims. All meat and meat products are equally safe for consumption regardless of whether they carry such claims. Consumers are advised not to be misled by these marketing claims.

The Food Regulations do not specify the minimum shelf life of food products.

Shelf life of food products should be determined by manufacturers of these products, through well designed shelf life studies. Some common factors to be considered include product composition, manufacturing process and technology, and packaging.

Local food manufacturers and importers are required to ensure that the food products they make available for sale in Singapore meet the standards specified under the Food Regulations, throughout their durable shelf life.

Currently, the declaration of expiry date is only mandatory for 19 categories of prepackaged food products under the Second Schedule of the Food Regulations. More information on date marking and food labels can be found in the Guide to Food Labelling and Advertisements.

Under regulation 10 of the Food Regulations, the expiry dates of prepacked food products may be declared in one of the following ways, in letters no less than 3mm in height:

• “USE BY (here insert the day, month and year)”;
• “SELL BY (here insert the day, month and year)”;
• “EXPIRY DATE (here insert the day, month and year)”; or
• “BEST BEFORE (here insert the day, month and year)”.

The dates declared in any of the above formats will be taken as the expiry date for the food products.

The expiry date may be expressed in the following manner:

• (the day of the month shall be expressed in figures, where the figure is a single digit it shall be preceded by a zero;
• (the month of the year shall be expressed in words and may be abbreviated by using the first 3 letters of the alphabet of the month except that where the day is shown first then followed by the month and year, the month may be expressed in figures; and
• the year shall be expressed in figures in full or by the last two figures of the year.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this regulation, it shall not be necessary to state —

• the year in the date mark of items 1 to 8 of the Second Schedule; or
• the day in the date mark of items 9 to 19 of the Second Schedule.

Under regulation 10 of the Food Regulations, the expiry dates of prepacked food products may be declared in one of the following ways

• “USE BY (here insert the day, month and year)”;
• “SELL BY (here insert the day, month and year)”;
• “EXPIRY DATE (here insert the day, month and year)”; or
• “BEST BEFORE (here insert the day, month and year)”.

The dates declared in any of the above formats will be taken as the expiry date for the food products.

The import, sale, consignment or delivery of any prepackaged food with an expired date mark is not allowed under regulation 10A of the Food Regulations.

Under regulation 10 of the Food Regulations, the expiry dates of prepacked food products may be declared in one of the following ways, in letters no less than 3mm in height:

• “USE BY (here insert the day, month and year)”;
• “SELL BY (here insert the day, month and year)”;
• “EXPIRY DATE (here insert the day, month and year)”; or
• “BEST BEFORE (here insert the day, month and year)”.

The manner of date marking proposed by your company in the sequence of year, month and day, must be closely accompanied by appropriate abbreviations (for example “Expiry date (YYYY/MM/DD): 20191231”) and is presented in a clear manner to consumers.

Regulation 10A of the Food Regulations prohibits the tampering of any date marking on prepacked food.

Under the Singapore Food Regulations, only chilled raw produce (meat and fish) are required to be date marked. Date marking for the chilled raw produce can be stated as the date of packing in the following manner:

• "PACKING DATE (here insert the day, month and year)";
• "PACKED ON (here insert the day, month and year)"; or
• "PKD (here insert the day, month and year)".

More information on date marking and food labels can be found in our Guide to Food Labelling and Advertisements. 

In general, consumers should not consume food products that have passed their expiry dates as they might have deteriorated in quality. However, the safety of a food product is not dependent solely on its expiry date. Food products that are not stored or handled properly can be unsafe to consume even if their expiry date has not passed. It is paramount that consumers check the food product for signs of spoilage (e.g. odour, bulging packaging, etc) before consumption. Do not eat if there are any doubts about the safety of the food product.

Under regulation 6(2) of the Food Regulations, only bread that are baked and loosely packed on site for sale in the premises itself are exempted from regulation 5 of the Food Regulations except the following:

• tartrazine or colour (102) or colour (FD&C Yellow #5), if it is used in the product
• net quantity of the food in the package, expressed in terms of net weight
• the name and address of the manufacturer

Bakeries may wish to declare ingredients that may cause hypersensitivity to individuals, on a voluntary basis.

Alcoholic drinks are defined as intoxicating liquors containing more than 0.5 % (v/v) alcohol at 20 degrees Celsius, under regulation 185 of the Food Regulations.

Alcoholic drinks made for sale in Singapore should bear the following basic information in English conspicuously and in a prominent position on their labels.

• An acceptable common name or description which is sufficient to indicate the true nature of the product
  (Please refer to the Food Regulations for the standards on respective alcoholic beverages.)
• The volumetric measure of the product
• The name of the country of origin
• The name and address of the importer, distributor or agent in Singapore, in the case of imported products; or the name and address of the Singapore manufacturer or vendor, in the case of locally manufactured product

The particulars stated in paragraphs (a) and (b) should be in printed letters not less than 1.5 mm in height. 

Prepacked alcoholic drink supplied and served in food service operators (e.g restaurants and bars), and not intended for direct retail sales to consumers, are not required to meet the labelling requirements under the Food Regulations. However, traders may wish to label the general labelling information on a voluntary basis, as information for food service operators when necessary.

Under regulation 5(4)(ea), the presence of ingredients that cause hypersensitivity to individuals (e.g. sulphur dioxide and sulphites) in alcoholic beverages, must be declared on the product label, even though regulation 6(3) of the Food Regulations exempts intoxicating liquors from having to carry a statement of ingredients.

Please note however that when allergenic ingredients (e.g. cereals, whey and nuts) are used as distillates for alcoholic beverages, or as fining/clarifying agents (e.g. fish gelatine or isinglass) in beer and wine, their presence need not be declared on the product label. We would, however, have no objection should your company wish to include a statement to voluntarily declare the source of alcohol if it is from one of the allergenic ingredients listed above.

Bottled mineral water, must meet the requirements under regulation 183A of the Food Regulations. The product is required to be labelled with the following information in English:

1. The name of the product
2. The volumetric measure of the water presented in the package
3. The name of the country of origin for the product
4. The name and address of the Singapore importer, distributor or agent for the product
5. The name and location of the source of water; and
6. The analytical composition giving characteristics to the product.

Wholemeal bread products must meet the standards as stipulated under regulation 49 of the Food Regulations. In addition, regulation 53 of the Food Regulations requires that prepacked wholemeal bread to be labelled with the per cent of wholemeal flour used.

Regulation 40A(2)(b) of the Food Regulations requires the word, “wholegrain” to be qualified by the percentage of wholegrain ingredients used. This percentage declared should be calculated is based on the total product.

Products labelled as "tea" alone, would have to meet the definition under regulation 153 of the Food Regulations for tea.

However, a beverage made from the infusion of leaves, fruits or flower of other edible plants may be named as tea, as long as additional suitable descriptors are used to reflect the true nature of its contents. For example, "fruit tea”, “yuzu tea" and "apple tea". 

The Food Regulations require prepacked food products to be labelled with product names which are sufficient to reflect the true nature of their contents.

Products labelled as “fruit juice” would have to meet the standards under regulation 171 of the Food Regulations.

Products labelled as “fruit drinks” or “fruit crushes” are required to meet the following standard stipulated under regulation 175 of the Food Regulations.

Regulation 171 of the Food Regulations for fruit juice requires the declaration of the words like, "From fruit concentrate", on the product label in letters not less than 3mm in height, if the fruit juice is made from the dilution of concentrated fruit juice.

For example, if 20% of water was removed from fruit juice to make concentrated fruit juice, the amount of water added back to the concentrate should be 20% for such products to be qualified as “fruit juice”.

Products labelled as “fruit jelly” should comply with the standards as stipulated under regulation 177 of the Food Regulations where it would refer to jam made from pulped fruit that has been strained. As such, the jam should contain not less than 35%(w/w) of the fruits which it is claimed to be made.

Regulation 250 of the Food Regulations, which defines diabetic food as "special purpose food that is particularly suitable for diabetics", requires every package of diabetic food to be labelled with a nutrition information panel and to include a statement as to the nature of the carbohydrates present in the food. In this connection, food products may be labelled with words like " Suitable for Diabetic/Diabetic Friendly" only if it complies with the standard for diabetic food as stipulated under the Food Regulations and is formulated to be nutritionally suitable for diabetics. Therefore, your company has to ensure that the product is indeed safe and suitable for consumption by the target group of consumers.

You may refer to the Guidance Document on Labelling Requirements for Infant Formula that is made available in the SFA website, for information on the labelling requirements for infant formula.

Prepacked rice should meet the general labelling requirements for all prepacked food, as well as the additional requirements for rice under the Food Regulations as below:

• The name of the product (including type of rice);
• the brand name of the product, if any;
• the name of the country of origin for the product;
• the name and address of the Singapore importer, distributor or agent for the imported rice;
• the net quantity of the rice (expressed in terms of "net weight"); and
• the grain composition of rice or percentage of whole kernel, head rice, big broken and broken kernels.

In addition to the general labelling requirements under the Food Regulations, raw meat that is thawed frozen and is suitably wrapped or packed should be labelled with the following in printed letters of not less than 5 millimetres in height, under the Environment Public Health (Food Hygiene) Regulations:

• the date on which the meat is thawed;
• the words "thawed from frozen meat";
• the words "keep chilled, do not re-freeze"; and
• the words "to be consumed within 3 days from (the date referred to in sub-paragraph (i))

More information on food labels can be found in our Guide to Food Labelling and Advertisements.