G/SPS/N/SGP/78  
 
30 September 2022  
(22-7402) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  Original: English  
 
  NOTIFICATION  
1. Notifying Member:  SINGAPORE  
If applicable, name of local government involved:   
2. Agency responsible:  Singapore Food Agency (SFA)  
3. Products covered (provide tariff item number(s) as specified in national 
schedules deposited with the WTO; ICS numbers should be provided in addition, 
where applicable):  Food 
4. Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent relevant or practicable : 
[X] All trading partners   
[ ] Specific regions or countries:   
5. Title of the notified document:  Draft Food (Amendment No. X) Regulations 2022  
(Labelling requirements for prepacked foods) (accessible on 
http://www.sfa.gov.sg/legislation ). Language(s):  English . Number of pages:  10 
6. Description of content:  The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) proposes the following 
amendments to the labelling requirements for prepacked food.  
A. To amend Regulation 5 of the Food Regulations on general requirements for labelling of 
prepacked food to:  
i. require the declaration of lot identification that identifies the producing factory and 
the production lot of the food;  
ii. require the declaration of directions of use or handling of food where incorrect 
manner  of use or handling of the food would render the food unsafe or unsuitable;  
iii. require the name of the country of origin of the food to be accompanied by suitable 
words (e.g. "Country of origin:"; "Product of"; "Manufactured in", etc) and for 
prepacked food m anufactured in Singapore to be declared with the country of origin;  
iv. amend the requirements for declaration of statement of ingredients as follows:  
a) mandate the declaration of statement of ingredients under an appropriate 
heading (e.g. "Ingredients"); and fo r the ingredients to be listed in descending 
order based on the ingoing weight at the time of manufacture.  
b) mandate the declaration of added water under the statement of ingredients 
except when:  
1. water forms part of an ingredient such as brine, syrup or brot h used in a 
compound food and declared as such in the list of ingredients;  
2. water is evaporated in the course of manufacture;  
3. water makes up less than 5% of the finished product; and  
4. water is used to reconstitute dehydrated ingredients where the amount of 
water added is equal to the water originally removed in the making of the 
dehydrated ingredient.  
c) exempt the declaration of processing aids.  
d) mandate the declaration of presence of any allergen obtained through the use of 
biotechnology involving a food and ingredients known to cause hypersensitivity 
to individuals (as listed under Regulation 5(4)(ea)).  G/SPS/N/SGP/78  
 
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  e) update the list of permitted general terms under the First Schedule of the Food 
Regulations and consequentially, to revoke Regulation 6(4).  
B. To amend Regula tion 6 to exempt food packed in small units, where the largest surface 
area is less than 10 cm², from the declaration of the following information on the label 
provided that the information is made accessible to a prospective purchaser through a 
physical d ocument or a website or other electronic record:  
i. statement of ingredients (including declaration of tartrazine, ingredients known to 
cause hypersensitivity to individuals)  
ii. lot identification  
iii. statement for food containing aspartame  
iv. directions of use or hand ling of food  
C. To amend Regulations 9 and 9A of the Food Regulations to prohibit the use of claims or 
suggestion in relation to food that implies:  
i. that other food is unsafe for consumption;  
ii. that an ingredient permitted by these Regulations in food is unsafe for consumption;  
iii. the food does not contain a food additive that is not permitted by these Regulations; 
or 
iv. the food does not contain any substance that is prohibited in food.  
D. To include a new Regulation 12A for food advertised or sold on online sales platform, to 
require the declaration of the following information on the sales listing of the prepacked 
food: 
i. Name of food  
ii. List of ingredients (including the declaration of tartrazin e and food known to cause 
hypersensitivity)  
iii. Net contents and drained weight  
iv. Name and address of the Singapore manufacturer, packer, distributor, importer, 
export or vendor of the food  
v. Name of the country of origin  
vi. Directions of use or handling of food  
E. To include the definition and specific criteria for foods sold as "gluten -free", "naturally 
gluten -free" and "reduced gluten".  
7. Objective and rationale: [X]  food safety, [  ] animal health, [  ] plant protection, 
[ ] protect humans from animal/plant pest or disease, [  ] protect territory from 
other damage from pests.   
8. Is there a relevant international standard? If so, identify the standard:  
[X] Codex Alimentarius Commission (e.g.  title or serial number of Codex 
standard or related tex t):  
a. General Standard for the labelling of prepackaged foods (CXS 1 -1985)  
b. General Guidelines on Claims (CAC/GL 1 -1979 (CXG 1 -1979))  
c. Standard for Foods for Special Dietary Use for Persons Intolerant to Gluten 
(CXS 118 -1979)  
[ ] World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) (e.g.  Terrestrial or Aquatic 
Animal Health Code, chapter number) :  
[ ] International Plant Protection Convention (e.g.  ISPM number) :  
[ ] None  
Does this proposed regulation conform to the relevant international st andard?  
[X] Yes   [  ] No 
If no, describe, whenever possible, how and why it deviates from the 
international standard:   G/SPS/N/SGP/78  
 
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  9. Other relevant documents and language(s) in which these are available:   
The following documents are available at the website:  http://www.sfa.gov.sg/legislation  
(select "Sale of Food Act", then click on the relevant document titles)  
a. Draft Food (Amendment No. X) Regulations 2022  (Labelling requirements for 
prepacked foods)  
b. Consultation on Draft Food (Amendment No. X) Regulations 2022  (Labelling 
requirements for prepacked foods)  
10. Proposed date of adoption (dd/mm/yy) : Second quarter of 2023.  
Proposed date of publication (dd/mm/yy) : Second quarter of 2023.  
11. Proposed date of entry into force: [  ] Six months from date of publication , and/or  
(dd/mm/yy) : Second quarter of 2023.  
[ ] Trade facilitating measure   
12. Final date for comments: [X] Sixty days from the date of circulation of the 
notification and/or (dd/mm/yy) : 29 November 2022  
Agency or authority designated to handle comments: [  ] National Notification 
Authority, [X]  National Enquiry Point. Address, fax number and e -mail address (if 
available) of other body:   
13. Text(s) available from: [  ] National Notification Authority, [X]  National Enquiry 
Point. Address, fax number and e -mail address (if available) of other body:   
The notified document and public consultation document will be made available at the 
following website: https://www.sfa.gov.sg/legislation . 
(Select "Sale of Food Act", then click on "Draft Food (Amendment No. X) Regulations 2022 
(Labelling requirements for prepacked foods)" and "Consultation on Draft Food 
(Amendment No. X) Reg ulations 2022 (Labelling requirements for prepacked foods)") . 
 
Alternatively, please write in to:  
Singapore Food Agency  
52 Jurong Gateway Road  
JEM Office Tower, #14 -01 
Singapore 608550  
E-mail: neo_mui_lee@sfa.g ov.sg  
 WTO_CONTACT@sfa.gov.sg