Sale of prohibited food contact article
Open ↗40.—(1) The Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, prohibit the import, advertising or sale of any food contact article which is, in the opinion of the Minister, injurious to life or health.[48/2017]
(2) A person must not import, advertise or sell any food contact article in contravention of any notification mentioned in subsection (1).[48/2017]
(3) Any person who contravenes subsection (2) shall be guilty of an offence.
(4) Without affecting section 32, in any proceedings for an offence under subsection (3) in relation to the publication of an advertisement in contravention of subsection (2), it is a defence to the charge for the accused to prove, on a balance of probabilities —(a)
that —(i)
the accused was acting in the course of a business of delivering, transmitting or broadcasting communications (in whatever form or by whatever means) or making data available; and
(ii)
the nature of the business is such that persons undertaking it have no control over the nature or content of the communications or data; or
(b)
that the accused —(i)
carried on the business of publishing or arranging for the publication of advertisements; and
(ii)
published or arranged for the publication of the advertisement in question in the ordinary course of that business.[48/2017]
(5) However, subsection (4) does not apply if the accused concerned —(a)
ought reasonably to have known that the publication of the advertisement was an offence under subsection (3); or
(b)
had previously been informed in writing by or on behalf of the Director‑General that publication of such an advertisement would constitute an offence under subsection (3).[48/2017; 11/2019]
Obstruction of authorised officers and interference with official marks
Open ↗41.—(1) A person must not at any time hinder, obstruct or molest any authorised officer in the performance and execution of that authorised officer’s duty or of anything which that authorised officer is empowered or required to do by virtue or in consequence of or under this Act.
(2) A person must not, without authority —(a)
open, alter, break, remove or erase any mark, fastening or seal placed by an authorised officer under this Act upon any food or food contact article or upon any package, place, door or opening containing or affording access to any food or food contact article; or
(b)
remove any mark, line, sign or other direction drawn or set up for the purposes of this Act.[48/2017]
(3) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) or (2) shall be guilty of an offence.
Forfeiture of food or food contact article upon conviction
Open ↗42.—(1) In the case of any conviction under this Act the District Court or the Magistrate’s Court (as the case may be) may order that any food or food contact article to which the conviction relates and any similar food or food contact article found on the accused’s premises or in the accused’s possession at the time of the commission of the offence, together with all packages or vessels containing the food or food contact article, be forfeited to the Agency.[48/2017; 11/2019]
(2) Everything so forfeited to the Agency must be disposed of as the Director‑General thinks fit.[11/2019]
Notification of conviction
Open ↗43. A notification of the name and occupation of any person who has been convicted of any offence under this Act together with that person’s place or places of business, the nature of the offence and the fine, forfeiture or other penalty inflicted must, if the court so orders, be published by the Director‑General in the Gazette or any newspaper circulating in Singapore.
Service of summons, notice, etc.
Open ↗44.—(1) Any summons, notice, order or document required or authorised by this Act to be served on any person may be served —(a)
by delivering it to the person or by delivering it at the person’s usual or last known place of residence to some adult member or employee of the person’s family;
(b)
by leaving it at the person’s usual or last known place of residence or business in a cover addressed to the person; or
(c)
by forwarding it by registered post addressed to the person at the person’s usual or last known place of residence or business.[48/2017]
(2) Any summons, notice, order or document required or authorised by this Act to be served on any incorporated company or body, may be served —(a)
by delivering it to the secretary of the company or body at its registered or principal office; or
(b)
by sending it by registered post addressed to the company or body at its registered or principal office.
(3) Any summons, notice, order or document required or authorised by this Act to be served on the owner or occupier of any premises may be served by delivering it or a true copy thereof to some adult person on the premises or, if there is no such person on the premises to whom it can with reasonable diligence be delivered, by affixing the summons, notice, order or document to some conspicuous part of the premises.
(4) Any summons, notice, order or document required or authorised by this Act to be served on the owner or occupier of any premises is deemed properly addressed if addressed by the description of the owner or occupier of the premises without further name or description.
Appeal to Minister against notice, order or decision
Open ↗45.—(1) Subject to sections 10J and 46(14), any person who is aggrieved by any notice, order or decision of the Director‑General may, within 7 days of the notice, order or decision, appeal in writing to the Minister whereupon the execution of the notice, order or decision must be stayed.[48/2017]
(2) The Minister may confirm, vary or rescind the notice, order or decision or direct that the thing be proceeded with, varied or abandoned (as the case may be) or make any order which the Director‑General is competent to make and the Minister’s decision is final.
(3) The Minister may designate to hear and determine, in the Minister’s place, any appeals or a specific appeal under this section —(a)
any Senior Minister of State or Minister of State, or Senior Parliamentary Secretary or Parliamentary Secretary, for his or her Ministry; or
(b)
any public officer in his or her Ministry not subordinate to the person whose decision is appealed against,
and any reference in this section to the Minister includes a reference to the Senior Minister of State or Minister of State, or Senior Parliamentary Secretary or Parliamentary Secretary or public officer so designated for that appeal.
[48/2017]
Licences
Open ↗46.—(1) The grant or renewal of any licence —(a)
is in the discretion of the Director‑General;
(b)
may be granted, renewed or refused without any reason for the grant, renewal or refusal being assigned therefor; and
(c)
may be granted or renewed subject to any restrictions and conditions that the Director‑General may think fit.
(2) The Director‑General may require any applicant for a licence to furnish such information and evidence that the Director‑General may reasonably require for a full and proper consideration of the application and, in the event of a refusal to furnish the information, must refuse to grant or renew the licence.
(3) The Director‑General may, before granting or renewing any licence, require the applicant to give security, either in the form of a cash deposit or by entering into a bond, that the provisions of this Act and the conditions of the licence will be duly observed.
(4) Where an applicant is required to enter into a bond, the Director‑General may require not more than 2 sureties to enter into the bond with the applicant.
(5) Any sum deposited or bond entered into under this section is liable to forfeiture in whole or in part at the discretion of the Director‑General on cancellation of the licence.
(6) Any person who wilfully furnishes any false information in any application for a licence shall be guilty of an offence and any licence granted is void and of no effect.
(7) Subject to the provisions of this Act, any licence may be for any period that the Director‑General thinks fit.
(8) There must be charged for the grant or renewal of any licence a fee prescribed, if any.
(9) Where a licence is granted for less than 12 months, the Director‑General may charge a proportionate fee therefor; and in charging such proportionate fee, any part of a month is to be reckoned as one month.
(10) A licensee is not entitled to any refund of any fee paid by the licensee in respect of any licence.
(11) A person must not in any manner transfer any licence or permit any licence to be used by any other person without the written approval of the Director‑General.
(12) Where a licensee —(a)
is in breach of any restriction or condition subject to which the licence was granted; or
(b)
fails to comply with an applicable requirement of this Act, the non‑compliance with which is not an offence under this Act,
the Director‑General may —
(c)
suspend or cancel the licence; and
(d)
in the case of paragraph (a), in lieu of or in addition to paragraph (c), impose a financial penalty of such amount, not exceeding $5,000, as the Director‑General thinks fit.[48/2017]
(13) All financial penalties collected under this section must be paid into the Consolidated Fund.[48/2017]
(14) Subject to the provisions of this Act, any person who is aggrieved by —(a)
the refusal by the Director‑General to grant or renew a licence;
(b)
the suspension or cancellation by the Director‑General of any licence;
(c)
the imposition of any financial penalty by the Director‑General; or
(d)
the forfeiture of any sum deposited or bond entered into under this section,
may, within 14 days of such refusal, suspension, cancellation, imposition of financial penalty or forfeiture, appeal to the Minister whose decision is final.
(15) The Minister may designate to hear and determine, in the Minister’s place, any appeals or a specific appeal under subsection (14) —(a)
any Senior Minister of State or Minister of State, or Senior Parliamentary Secretary or Parliamentary Secretary, for his or her Ministry; or
(b)
any public officer in his or her Ministry not subordinate to the person whose decision is appealed against,
and any reference in that subsection to the Minister includes a reference to the Senior Minister of State or Minister of State, or Senior Parliamentary Secretary or Parliamentary Secretary or public officer so designated for that appeal.
[48/2017]
(16) In this section, “licence” includes any approval, permit, permission, authority, authorisation or licence which may be granted or renewed by the Director‑General under this Act.
Notices, receipts, etc., may be given by authorised officer
Open ↗47.—(1) All notices, orders, receipts, warrants and other documents which the Director‑General is empowered to give under this Act may be given by any other authorised officer.
(2) Where any such notice, order, receipt, warrant or document requires authentication, the signature or a facsimile thereof of the Director‑General or an authorised officer affixed to that notice, order, receipt, warrant or document is sufficient authentication.
Police officers and authorised officers may demand names and addresses in certain cases
Open ↗48.—(1) Any person who is charged by any police officer or authorised officer with any offence under this Act must on demand give his or her name and address and other proof of identity to the police officer or authorised officer, if so required.
(2) The occupier of any premises must, if required by any police officer or authorised officer, give his or her name and other proof of identity and the name and address of the owner of the premises, if known.
(3) Any person who contravenes this section or wilfully mis-states his or her name and address or the name and address of the owner of any premises shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $300.
General penalties
Open ↗49. Any person who is guilty of an offence under this Act for which no penalty is expressly provided shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 and, in the case of a second or subsequent conviction, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months or to both.
Composition of offences
Open ↗50.—(1) The Director‑General may compound any offence under this Act as may be prescribed as being an offence that may be compounded by collecting from a person reasonably suspected of having committed the offence a sum of money not exceeding $1,000.
(2) On payment of the sum of money, no further proceedings are to be taken against that person in respect of the offence.
(3) The Minister may make regulations to prescribe the offences which may be compounded and the method and procedure by which those offences may be compounded under this section.
(4) All sums collected under this section must be paid into the Consolidated Fund.[48/2017]
Inaccuracies in documents
Open ↗51.—(1) No misnomer or inaccurate description of any person, premises, building, street or place named or described in any document prepared, issued or served under or for the purposes of this Act in any way affects the operation of this Act as respects that person or place if that person or place is so named or described in the document as to be identifiable.
(2) No proceedings taken under this Act are to be invalid for want of form.
Evidence
Open ↗52.—(1) The content of any document prepared, issued or served under or for the purposes of this Act is, until the contrary is proved, presumed to be correct.
(2) Every record, register and other document kept by any authorised officer for the purposes of this Act is deemed to be a public document, and a copy thereof or an extract therefrom certified by the officer responsible for the custody thereof to be a true copy or extract (as the case may be) and subscribed by such officer with his or her name and his or her official title is admissible in evidence as proof of the content of the document or extract therefrom.
Forms
Open ↗53. The Director‑General may design and utilise any forms the Director‑General thinks fit for any of the purposes of this Act, and may require any person to complete any of the forms for any such purpose.
Exemption from Act
Open ↗54. The Minister may, by order in the Gazette, exempt any class of persons, food businesses, premises, food or activities from the operation of all or any of the provisions of this Act or the food regulations.[48/2017]
Administrative exemption from Act
Open ↗55.—(1) The Director‑General may exempt, for a period specified in the exemption, a particular person, food business, premises, food or activity from the operation of all or any of the provisions of this Act or the food regulations where the Director‑General is personally satisfied that all of the following apply:(a)
the risk to public health of providing the exemption is negligible;
(b)
there are other sufficient safeguards under this Act or any other written law, or by other means, to minimise any risk to public health in providing the exemption;
(c)
there are requirements in other written law or there are other means that deal with the matter to be exempted besides the applicable requirements of this Act;
(d)
the exemption is necessary or desirable to avoid unnecessary restrictions on trade.[48/2017]
(2) An exemption under this section —(a)
must be in writing and given to the particular person concerned; and
(b)
need not be published in the Gazette.[48/2017]
Regulations
Open ↗56.—(1) The Minister may make regulations —(a)
to prescribe the standard of strength, weight, quality or quantity of any food or of any ingredient or component part thereof;
(b)
to prohibit the addition or use of any specified thing or of more than the specified quantity or proportion thereof to any food or food contact article;
(c)
to prohibit any modes of manufacture, preparation or preservation of any food or food contact article;
(d)
to secure the cleanliness and freedom from contamination of any food in the course of its manufacture, preparation, storage, packing, carriage, delivery, exposure for sale or sale and to secure the cleanliness of places, receptacles, food contact articles and vehicles used in such manufacture, preparation, storage, packing, carriage, delivery, exposure for sale or sale and to secure the proper conduct of places in which the sale or preparation for sale of food is carried on and for these purposes to require any person to submit to a medical examination;
(e)
regulating the identification and labelling of food or food contact articles for sale, including specifying the matter that must or must not be contained in any such label and the manner of labelling;
(f)
setting out standards for the maintenance, cleanliness, sanitation and hygiene of premises at which a non-retail food business is carried out;
(g)
setting out requirements and procedures for document control and recording by food businesses to achieve the safety and suitability of food and to support a secure and reliable supply of food, including —(i)
the information that must be collected about food or a food contact article;
(ii)
the periods for which the information must be kept; and
(iii)
how, when and to whom that information must be reported;
(h)
setting out requirements that apply to imported food or food contact articles to ensure that the food or food contact article is safe and suitable and to support a secure and reliable supply of imported food in Singapore, including keeping of records in relation to the source or traceability and handling of the food or food contact article imported;
(i)
to prescribe the method of analysis of any food and form of certificate of analysis;
(j)
to fix the fees to be paid in respect of the analysis of the food by an authorised analyst and for any licence or registration issued or effected under this Act and for copies of a certificate of analysis;
(k)
prohibiting or regulating the promotion and advertising of food and food contact articles, including specifying the matter that must or must not be contained in any advertisement and the manner of promotion and advertising;
(l)
to prohibit the sale of specified food or food contact articles otherwise than by weight;
(m)
to prohibit or regulate whether by licence or otherwise the import or sale of separated or skimmed milk or filled milk or whey;
(n)
requiring, regulating or prohibiting the display or distribution, by a prescribed class of retail food businesses, in relation to a prescribed class of food which is sold by retail or displayed for sale by retail at the premises where the food business is carried out, of information of a kind prescribed, including providing for —(i)
nutritional information that must be determined in a prescribed manner; and
(ii)
display in the manner (such as in a menu in printed or electronic form or a label), and at locations in those premises, prescribed for nutritional information of that kind;
(o)
to regulate the seizure and disposal of unwholesome meat, fish, fruit, vegetables or other food or drink exposed or intended for sale;
(p)
prescribing the fees to be paid in connection with the administration of this Act, and the waiver, reduction or refund of fees charged;
(q)
providing for any saving, transitional and other consequential, incidental and supplemental provisions that the Minister considers necessary or expedient;
(r)
to prescribe that any act or omission, or any contravention of the provisions of any regulations shall be an offence and to provide for the imposition of a fine not exceeding $5,000 and, in the case of a continuing offence, a further fine of $500 for every day or part of a day during which the offence continues after conviction; and
(s)
generally to carry out the purposes of this Act.[48/2017; 11/2019]
(2) Any such regulations may be made applicable either to foods or food contact articles generally or to specified foods or food contact articles only.[48/2017]
(3) The Minister may, in making any regulations, prescribe the circumstances in which it is presumed that an offence under the provisions of any such regulations was committed.
(4) Any food regulation may adopt or incorporate by reference, with or without modification specified in the regulation, any matter contained in any code, standard, rule, requirement, specification or other document, as in force at a particular time or from time to time, which relates to any matter with which the food regulation deals, even if the code, standard, rule, requirement, specification or other document does not yet exist when the food regulation is made.[48/2017]
(5) Any material applied, adopted or incorporated in any food regulation by reference under subsection (4) is to be treated for all purposes as forming part of the food regulation; and, unless otherwise provided in the food regulation, every amendment to any material incorporated by reference under subsection (4) that is made by the person or organisation originating the material is, subject to subsection (6), to be treated as being a part of the food regulation.[48/2017]
(6) Where any material mentioned in subsection (4) is applied, adopted or incorporated by reference in any food regulation, the Minister must give notice in the Gazette stating —(a)
that the material is incorporated in the food regulation and the date on which the relevant provision in the food regulation was made;
(b)
that the material is available for inspection during working hours, free of charge;
(c)
the place where the material can be inspected;
(d)
that copies of the material can be purchased;
(e)
the place where the material can be purchased; and
(f)
if copies of the material are available in other ways, the details of where or how the material can be accessed or obtained.[48/2017]
(7) The Minister may, in making any regulations, prescribe the circumstances when a trade mark may or may not be used on or in relation to any packaging or container of any particular food, or on any particular food, or in any advertisement relating to any particular food, but these circumstances and the operation of those regulations are not circumstances that make it reasonable or appropriate —(a)
to not register the trade mark under the Trade Marks Act 1998;
(b)
to revoke the acceptance of an application for registration of the trade mark under that Act;
(c)
to register the trade mark subject to conditions or limitations under that Act;
(d)
to revoke the registration of the trade mark under that Act; or
(e)
to declare invalid under that Act the registration of the trade mark.[11/2019]
(8) All regulations made under this Act must be published in the Gazette and must be presented to Parliament as soon as possible after publication.
(9) Despite anything in any regulations made under this section, any person may, at any time within 12 months after the date of the publication in the Gazette of such regulations, sell any food the sale of which is otherwise lawful, if that person proves that at that date the food or food contact article was part of the existing stock-in-trade in Singapore of any person carrying on business there and that since that date no act has been done whereby the food or food contact article fails to conform to the requirements of those regulations.[48/2017]
(10) For the purposes of subsection (9) any goods purchased before the date of the publication in the Gazette of such regulations for import into Singapore are deemed to form part of the purchasers’ stock-in-trade in Singapore.
Source: Singapore Statutes Online (Attorney-General's Chambers), © Government of Singapore.
