Singapore has one national regulator and public grades. The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) licenses food establishments, sets conditions and publishes each establishment's grade. The law is in transition, so check which Act applies on the day you read this.
The Food Safety and Security Act 2025 commences in stages. As read on 14 October 2026, its parts on food business licensing, and most food safety offences had not commenced, so the older Acts below still apply. Some parts have applied since 28 November 2025, including pre-market approval for defined and novel foods and non-packaged drinking water, so those businesses are already bound. When those parts commence, expect one food business licence with an accepted food control plan, duties, 24-hour notification and registered food workers. Check the commencement table on Singapore Statutes Online.
Singapore Food Agency
The national regulator. It licenses, inspects, grades and enforces.Licensed establishments
The licence depends on the activity. The boundary between retail and non-retail matters, because it decides the law, the conditions and the penalty scheme.Food Hygiene Officers
Supervisory staff who check hygiene between SFA inspections and coach handlers. One officer per establishment.| Main law | What it does |
|---|---|
| Sale of Food Act 1973 | Unsafe and unsuitable food, labelling, SFA directions including , and licensing of non-retail food businesses (s 21). |
| Sale of Food (Non-Retail Food Business) Regulations | Hygiene duties of non-retail licensees. |
| Environmental Public Health Act 1987, Part 4 | Licensing of retail food establishments and catering establishments (s 32). |
| Environmental Public Health (Food Hygiene) Regulations | Retail and caterer hygiene: handler registration, temperatures, the caterers' 4-hour rule and time stamp. |
| Food Regulations | Prepacked food labels, including 8 hypersensitivity groups, and date marking. |
| SFA licence conditions and checklists | Binding through the licence. Design, cold stores, delivery vehicles, pest contracts, programmes. |
| Wholesome Meat and Fish Act 1999 | In force. Licenses meat and fish processing establishments and cold stores. The 2025 Act will repeal it when that part commences. |
| Food Safety and Security Act 2025 | The incoming single law. See the note above. |
Getting permission to operate
Work out your activityRetail and catering go under the Environmental Public Health Act. Supplying other businesses (a food processing establishment, or a central kitchen doing so) goes under the Sale of Food Act.
Meet the pre-licensing checklistA food shop licence has a self-checklist, including a pest control contract of at least 12 months, a cleaning schedule and worker .
Train and register peopleFood handlers need WSQ Food Safety Course Level 1 and are registered with SFA. Appoint a where required.
For catering, build the system firstAppoint an (Level 4), implement the food safety management system and submit the plan, with its and charts, with the application. SFA inspects after that.
Display the licenceThe licence with its QR code goes in a conspicuous place. The grade comes from your track record.
| Requirement | For whom | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Food safety management system | Caterers, and businesses offering catering on the side | , and records. It can be certified or non-certified. SFA recognises SS 444, SS 590, , FSSC 22000 and BRC as certified routes, and SS 583 as a non-certifiable basis. |
| plan on file | Licensed food processing establishments | Kept at the premises under the licence conditions. |
| Food Safety Course Level 1 | Food handlers in retail and non-retail. Managers, QA and service staff who don't handle food are | Retrain within 5 years, then within every 10 years. A handler who misses the deadline can't handle food until they pass. |
| , Level 3 | Caterers, canteens, food courts, restaurants with 2 or more adjacent units or a kitchen over 16 m², cold stores and food processing establishments | One-time , and must be supervisory staff. An officer who also handles food must retrain within 5 years, then every 10 years. |
| , Level 4 | Caterers. Today needed for the fast-track route to grade A in Category 1, and expected for all grade A at a later phase | Develops, implements and internally audits the food safety system. |
SAFE grades
A, B, NEW or C. Grade A means more than 3 years with no major lapse, with a fast track for Category 1 establishments that have a 1-year record, an and a certified system. A major lapse drops the grade to C. Phase 2, by 2027, adds requirements for Category 1 grade A.Demerit points
For retail licensees. A serious offence, such as bare-hand handling or more than 4 hours in the for caterers, is 6 points. 12 points in 12 months means suspension: 2 weeks, then 4, then revocation.Time stamps for catering
Caterers can't supply food held at 5 to 60 °C for more than 4 hours in total, and must time-stamp it. In Australia the is guidance, with no time stamp.No typhoid requirement
SFA no longer requires typhoid vaccination or TB screening for food handlers generally, though meat, fish and egg licensees must still have exposed-food handlers medically examined before starting and every year. Masks stopped being mandatory on 1 January 2026. Malaysia still requires vaccination, so staff moving between the two need checking.Halal is a separate track
MUIS runs halal with its own conditions on people, ingredients, vehicles and dispatch. Check recognition before relying on a from another country.Penalties today
Hygiene regulations: up to 2,000 Singapore dollars, plus 100 Singapore dollars a day for a continuing offence. Sale of Food Act general penalty: up to 5,000 Singapore dollars, then up to 10,000 Singapore dollars or 3 months on repeat conviction. Breaching an SFA direction: up to 10,000 Singapore dollars or 12 months. The 2025 Act sets its own penalties when it commences.Sources: Sale of Food Act 1973Environmental Public Health Act 1987Food Hygiene RegulationsFood RegulationsFood Safety and Security Act 2025SFA: food handlers and hygiene officersSFA: food shop self-checklistSFA: licensing conditionsSFA: food safety management systemsSFA: SAFE frameworkSFA: points demerit systemSFA: retail premises guidelinesMUIS halal conditions