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Overseas Accreditation of Food & Food Products

All overseas sources of the following specific food products must be accredited by SFA before they can be imported into Singapore.

  1. Meat & Meat Products, unless the products contain less than 5% meat
  2. Live Poultry
  3. Shell Eggs
  4. Processed Eggs (e.g. powdered, pasteurised, and whole egg forms)
  5. Fish & Fish Products, including types of seafood that are deemed to be of higher food safety risks, such as live oysters and pufferfish

Meat & Meat Products

SFA requires all slaughterhouses, cutting plants and meat processing establishments to be accredited. 

Coldstores (with no food processing involved) and farms supplying animals to overseas slaughterhouses do not require accreditation. 

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How does accreditation ensure the food safety of meat & meat products?

SFA takes a science-based risk management approach to food safety. Accreditation is required for certain meat & meat products to ensure that food products from overseas sources meet Singapore’s food safety standards and comply with existing food regulations.

What overseas sources of meat and meat products must be accredited?

Use the table below to determine if the meat and meat product must be accredited by SFA before it is allowed to be imported into Singapore. 

 

Meat ProductAccreditation requirements
Beef ProductsAccreditation is required regardless of the percentage of beef content in the food product.
Non-Beef Meat Products that contain more than 5% meat contentAccreditation is required
Non-Beef Meat Products with less than 5% meat content

Accreditation is not required. However, these food products must meet the following requirements before it is allowed to be imported into Singapore


1. The overseas source i.e. the establishment, must be regulated by overseas Competent Authorities.


2. The product must be approved by SFA before export to Singapore. For details, see How to seek approval from SFA for Non-Beef Products Containing Less Than 5% Meat.

What does accreditation involve?

There are two levels of accreditation.

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Who can apply for accreditation?

Overseas farms and establishments, such as slaughterhouses and meat processing plants from approved countries/regions, can apply.

The application must be submitted by the Competent Authority of the exporting country/region to SFA.

How to apply for accreditation?

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How to seek approval from SFA for non-beef products containing less than 5% meat?

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Live Poultry

Live poultry and other livestock are domestic birds and animals that are slaughtered for consumption.

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What overseas sources of live poultry must be accredited?

All overseas sources of live poultry must be accredited before it can be imported into Singapore.

How does accreditation ensure the food safety of Live Poultry?

SFA takes a science-based risk management approach to food safety.

Live animals pose several risks and challenges. For instance, live poultry may carry and transmit diseases to those who have direct contact with the live animals (e.g. high pathogenicity avian influenza, commonly known as avian flu).

Accreditation ensures that live poultry imported from overseas sources meet Singapore’s animal health and food safety standards. 

 

What does accreditation involve?

There are two levels of accreditation.

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Who can apply for accreditation?

Overseas live poultry farms from approved countries/regions can apply. The application must be submitted by the Competent Authority of the exporting country/region to SFA.

How to apply for accreditation?

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Shell Eggs

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What overseas sources of shell eggs must be accredited?

All overseas sources of shell eggs must be accredited before the eggs can be exported to Singapore.

How does accreditation ensure the food safety of shell eggs?

SFA takes a science-based risk management approach to food safety.

Eggs can be contaminated with harmful microorganisms such as Salmonella, which can cause foodborne illnesses. Some may also contain veterinary drug residues when procedures on drug usage and withdrawal periods are not followed strictly by the farms.

Accreditation helps to ensure that eggs from overseas sources meet Singapore’s animal health and food safety standards.

What does accreditation involve?

There are two levels of accreditation.

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Who can apply for accreditation?

Overseas poultry farms from approved countries/regions can apply for accreditation to export shell eggs into Singapore.

To supply free-range eggs, the exporting country/region must be accredited for free-range eggs before the farm can apply for accreditation.

The application must be submitted by the competent authority of the exporting country/region to SFA.

How to apply for accreditation?

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Processed Eggs

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What overseas sources of processed eggs must be accredited?

All overseas egg processing plants or establishments that produce processed eggs sources of processed eggs listed in the table below must be accredited before the egg products can be imported into Singapore.

Form of Egg ProductExamples
Powdered and pasteurised liquid eggs
  • whole eggs
  • egg whites
  • egg yolks
  • blends of whites and yolks
Whole egg products
  • hard-boiled eggs
  • whole egg omelettes
  • salted and preserved eggs

How does accreditation ensure the food safety of processed eggs?

SFA takes a science-based risk management approach to food safety.

Like shell eggs, processed eggs can be contaminated with harmful microorganisms such as Salmonella, which can cause foodborne illnesses. They may also contain veterinary drug residues when procedures on drug usage and withdrawal periods are not followed strictly by the farms.

During processing and packaging, there is also a risk of cross-contamination from equipment, surfaces, or personnel.

Accreditation helps to ensure that processed eggs from overseas sources meet Singapore’s animal health and food safety standards.

What does accreditation involve?

There are two levels of accreditation.

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Who can apply for accreditation?

Overseas egg processing establishments from approved countries/regions can apply for accreditation to export processed eggs.

The application must be submitted by the Competent Authority of the exporting country/region to SFA.

How to apply for accreditation?

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Fish & Fish Products

Higher-risk fish and seafood products, i.e. live oysters and pufferfish, must be accredited before they can be imported into Singapore. 

While other types of fish and fish products do not require accreditation, they must be regulated by overseas Competent Authorities before they can be imported into Singapore. For details, see Import Requirements for Food & Food Products.

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How do these measures ensure the safety of fish and fish products?

Accreditation, import requirements, and post-import inspection are part of the import controls imposed by SFA to ensure our food is safe for consumption.

In the case of fish and fish products, more stringent requirements are imposed on live oysters as they accumulate bacteria, viruses, and toxins, and are often consumed raw.

As for pufferfish, a type of toxin, tetrodotoxin, can be present in certain parts of the pufferfish (e.g. ovaries and liver) and pose a food safety concern. Therefore, these higher-risk products need to be accredited.

Live fish, frozen raw prawns and other lower-risk fish and fish products do not need to be accredited but are still subject to post-import inspection and sample testing. Samples are tested for a wide range of food-borne hazards such as chemical contaminants (e.g. pesticide residues and heavy metals and drug residues) and harmful microorganisms (e.g. bacteria like E coli, Salmonella and Listeria).

What are the accreditation requirements for live oysters?

Only approved countries/regions that maintain a National Shellfish Sanitation Programme (NSSP) can export live oysters to Singapore.

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What are the accreditation requirements for pufferfish?

You can only import wild and farmed pufferfish muscle meat and farmed pufferfish parts (fins, skin, and milt) from SFA-accredited pufferfish establishments.

Each consignment imported must be accompanied by a health certificate issued by the relevant authority of the exporting country/region, which includes the following attestations:

  • The product is safe for human consumption.

  • The products have been prepared in accordance with the regulations of the exporting country/region, in an establishment accredited by SFA, and are audited regularly by the Competent Authority for compliance with conditions for import into Singapore.

 

For more information
You can contact us via the SFA Online Feedback Form.

Last Updated 25 Oct 2024


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