Singapore Food Agency Logo
All content Pages Tools & Resources Digital Services FAQs
Search Filters

Refine your search by selecting a Content Type.

Search Bar

Looking for something? Use Search to find what you need.

Search icon

Legislation

Food Safety and Security Act
Singapore Food Agency Act 2019 (Act 11 of 2019)
Feeding Stuffs Act 1965
Fisheries Act 1966
Sale of Food Act 1973
Wholesome Meat and Fish Act 1999
Environmental Public Health Act
Infectious Diseases Act
Price Control Act (Chapter 244)
icon-dropdown-sub-menu Food Safety and Security Act
Singapore Food Agency Act 2019 (Act 11 of 2019) Feeding Stuffs Act 1965 Fisheries Act 1966 Sale of Food Act 1973 Wholesome Meat and Fish Act 1999 Environmental Public Health Act Infectious Diseases Act Price Control Act (Chapter 244)

Food Safety and Security Act

The Food Safety and Security Act (FSSA) was passed by Parliament on 8 January 2025 and assented to by the President on 3 February 2025, with the aim of consolidating and refreshing existing food-related legislation, strengthening Singapore’s food safety regime to better protect consumers and public health, and to keep pace with emerging challenges in safeguarding food security. 

The FSSA consists of 17 parts, 405 sections, and 2 schedules, and will come into force in tranches. Tranche 1 comprises provisions relating to defined food and non-packaged drinking water and came into force on 28 November 2025. 

Subsidiary legislation for Tranche 1 was published on 24 November 2025 and also came into force on 28 November 2025, supporting mainly Part 5 FSSA on Defined Food and Pre-Market Approval, as well as Part 6 FSSA relating to the Provision of Non-Packaged Drinking Water.

 

 

Part 5 - Defined Food 

From 28 November 2025, Parts 5 and 8 FSSA make it an offence to supply in Singapore any defined food, to handle food intended for supply in a way that will or is likely to make the food a defined food, or to produce primary produce that is a defined food.

In the FSSA, defined food refers to food that:

(a) is, or contains a novel food without a pre‑market approval;
(b) is, or contains a genetically modified food without a pre‑market approval; or
(c) is, or contains, in any form, an edible insect‑like species which is not a catalogued insect‑like species.

The Food Safety and Security (FSSA Authorisations — Administration) Regulations 2025 provides for how to apply for pre-market approval from SFA relating to novel food and genetically modified (GM) food, especially information required by SFA to process the application, and the application fees. 

Edible insect-like species that have not been listed in the Food Safety and Security (Catalogued Insect-like Species) Order 2025 are defined food.

To get an edible insect included in the Food Safety and Security (Catalogued Insect-like Species) Order 2025, the information to be submitted to SFA for the assessment of new insect species are:

  • Scientific name of insect and intended life stage(s) that are meant for human consumption
  • Details of the farming and/or processing method, including the type of substrate (i.e material used for feeding insects)
  • Evidence of history of use as a human food in a country other than Singapore
  • Information relied on to establish that the species and life stage is safe for consumption (e.g. scientific literature, laboratory reports)
  • Singapore address or entity of applicant

Part 6 - Provision of Non-Packaged Drinking Water

The safety of Non-Packaged Drinking Water (NPDW) has been regulated under Part 9 of the Environmental Public Health Act (EPHA) since 2019. Part 6 of the FSSA replaces the EPHA and vests in the SFA power to regulate the quality of NPDW supplied by drinking water producers providing a Drinking Water Service (DWS).

    Note

    Drinking water producer includes any person (an entity or individual) who carries out drinking water production in the course of business, and drinking water service means a service that involves drinking water production and supplying water by means of a reticulation system or in bulk, to any person.

    The Food Safety and Security (Non-Packaged Drinking Water) Regulations 2025 (FSS (NPDW) Regs) establishes detailed regulatory requirements on the quality of NPDW and DWS. These include setting specific regulatory standards to determine wholesomeness of NPDW, providing details on methodology and assessment to ensure drinking water quality, and imposing special regulatory duties on selected DWS who are capable of producing more than 4 cubic metres of NPDW per day, and are supplying the NPDW. These DWS are called Water Quality Management Plan (WQMP) water providers.

    WQMP water providers can only provide a drinking water service following a WQMP approved by SFA. The Food Safety and Security Non-Packaged Drinking Water) Regulations 2025 provides for how to apply for approval of a WQMP and for its annual review. To support this, SFA has provided Guidelines on Water Quality Management Plan for NPDW which comprises best practices on monitoring, assessment, and risk management practices that can be adopted by the WQMP water providers in the preparation of WQMP. A WQMP water providers are also required to review the WQMP at least once a year and submit a report of the review of WQMP to SFA, no later than 31 December of the year.

    The FSS (NPDW) Regs also contains offences and penalties for contravening of regulatory requirements, such as not adhering to an approved WQMP when supplying drinking as DWS.

    Acts of Parliament are available without charge, and updated monthly, at the Singapore Government Statutes online website. Hardcopies of the Acts and Subsidiary Legislation can be purchased from the Toppan Leefung Pte.Ltd. at their Legal Publications retail outlet at No. 1 Kim Seng Promenade #18-01/06 Great World City, East Tower, Singapore 237994, Tel: 6826 9691. Alternatively, you can order the said statutes online via their website.

    Disclaimer

    While every effort will be made to keep the legislation accurate and up-to-date, no warranty of any kind, implied, expressed or statutory, including but not limited to any warranties of title, non-infringement of third party rights, merchantability, satisfactory quality, fitness for a particular purpose and freedom from computers virus, is given in conjunction with this website, or any information and materials therein. No warranty is given that access to any information or materials on this website, or this website as a whole will be provided uninterrupted or free from errors or that any identified defect will be corrected; further, no warranty is given that this website or any information or materials are free from any virus or other malicious, destructive or corrupting code, agent, program or macros.

    Back to Top icon

    Top

    Singapore Food Agency

    FAQs Link to FAQs Contact Feedback Link to Feedback
    Report Vulnerability Link to Report Vulnerability Privacy Statement Terms of Use Sitemap

    © 2025 Singapore Food Agency

    Last Updated 07 Dec 2025