Singapore Food Agency Bill

Bill No. 5/2019

Read the first time on 15 January 2019.

An Act to establish the Singapore Food Agency, to repeal the Agri‑Food and Veterinary Authority Act (Chapter 5 of the 2012 Revised Edition) and the Cattle Act (Chapter 34 of the 2002 Revised Edition), and to make consequential and related amendments to certain other Acts.

Be it enacted by the President with the advice and consent of the Parliament of Singapore, as follows:

PART 1

PRELIMINARY

Short title and commencement

1. This Act is the Singapore Food Agency Act 2019 and comes into operation on a date that the Minister appoints by notification in the Gazette.

Interpretation

2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —

“accreditation, certification or inspection mark” means any accreditation, certification or inspection mark of the Agency;

“Agency” means the Singapore Food Agency established by section 3;

“animal” includes —

(a)	any amphibian, bird, crustacean, fish, insect, mammal (other than a human being), mollusc, reptile or any form of aquatic life; and
(b)	any egg, embryo, ova or sperm of any thing in paragraph (a);

“Chairperson”, in relation to the Agency, means the member of the Agency who is appointed under section 12 as the Chairperson of the Agency, and includes any person appointed under section 14 to act in that capacity;

“Chief Executive” means the Chief Executive of the Agency appointed under section 31, and includes any person acting in that capacity;

“committee” means a committee of the Agency appointed under section 27;

“committee member” means an individual appointed to be a member of a committee;

“delegate” means a person to whom the Agency under section 29(1) delegates the performance or exercise of any of its functions or powers;

“Deputy Chairperson”, in relation to the Agency, means a member of the Agency who is appointed under section 12 as a Deputy Chairperson of the Agency;

“food” has the meaning given by section 2A of the Sale of Food Act (Cap. 283);

“food business” has the meaning given by section 2B of the Sale of Food Act;

“food industry” means an industry consisting of —

(a)

food businesses; and

(b)

persons who carry on any business in connection with one or more, or any part, or any combination, of the following:

(i)	the production of primary produce;
(ii)	the supply of food or the safety of food;
(iii)	activities involving agricultural science or agri‑biotechnology in relation to food or food biotechnology;

“food standard” means a standard about any of the following matters:

(a)

the composition of food, including —

(i)	the maximum amounts of contaminants or residues that may be present in the food;
(ii)	the maximum or minimum amount of additives that must or may not be present in the food;
(iii)	its microbiological status and safety; and
(iv)	the method of sampling and testing the food to determine its composition;

(b)

the production of food;

(c)

the packaging, storage or handling of food;

(d)

any information about food including labelling, promotion or advertising;

(e)

the interpretation of food standards;

(f)

such other public health matters relating to food as are prescribed;

“functions”, in relation to the Agency, means functions conferred on the Agency by this Act or any other Act;

“member”, in relation to the Agency, means a member of the Agency appointed under section 10, and includes any person appointed under section 14 to act in that capacity;

“primary produce” means —

(a)

food from or involved in the production of primary produce;

(b)

an animal or plant intended for human or animal consumption;

(c)

raw material taken from an animal or plant for food which is in substantially the same condition as when it was taken from the animal or plant; or

(d)

a substance, other than food —

(i)	that is labelled as not intended for consumption by humans or animals;
(ii)	that the Minister is satisfied is likely to be consumed by humans or animals and if so consumed, poses a food safety hazard to the humans or animals; and
(iii)	that is prescribed to be primary produce;

“production of primary produce” includes the following:

(a)

the growing, cultivation, picking, harvesting, collection or catching (including fishing) of animals or plants;

(b)

the transport or delivery of primary produce;

(c)

the sorting or grading of primary produce;

(d)

the freezing, packaging, refrigeration, storage, treating or washing of primary produce, including —

(i)	enhancing the appearance of the primary produce (such as by waxing or oiling it); and
(ii)	dealing with the primary produce solely to kill bacteria or germs in the produce, or to ripen it;

(e)

the dismembering, filleting, peeling or shucking of seafood, or adding brine to seafood;

(f)

the pasteurisation or homogenisation of milk, or manufacturing of other dairy produce;

(g)

meat processing;

(h)

the processing of primary produce intended for consumption by animals where the animal, or any part or product of the animal, is intended for human consumption,

but does not include a process (such as manufacturing or canning) in which the nature of the primary produce is substantially changed, and an activity which is carried on incidentally to the carrying on of a retail business and is prescribed;

“public authority” means a body corporate established by a public Act for the purposes of a public function;

“subdelegate” means a person to whom a delegate under section 29(2) further delegates the performance or exercise of any of the Agency’s functions or powers;

“transfer date” means a date specified by the Minister by order in the Gazette for the purposes of Part 8.

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