Requirements for Licence / Permit for Food Retail

Since 2022, operators of Food Shops offering self-service buffets have been required to provide an adequate number of hand sanitisers or disposable gloves in the food display area of buffet settings, so that food handlers and patrons have ready access to them.

Operators who do not comply with this licensing condition shall be liable to have their food licences revoked or suspended.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) has required selected food shops, such as coffee shops, eating house canteens, food courts, and private markets to implement the ESR. Licensees of such Food Shops are required to submit their Environmental Sanitation Programme (ESP) to NEA. For details, please refer to NEA’s website.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) premises with areas for the preparation and sale of food/drinks (e.g. herbal drinks and tea-leaf eggs), are considered food shops and must have a Food Shop Licence to operate.

The licence will cover only the areas used for preparing and selling food/beverages. Hence, only such food preparation areas are required to be designed according to the requirements of the licence.

Pet cafes are Food Shops where pets are allowed.

Beginning 1 January 2025, retail food businesses that are not serving pet food are not required to seek approval if they would like to allow patrons to bring pets along when they dine in at Outdoor Refreshment Areas (ORAs) of their premises.

Retail food businesses that intend to serve pet food will still need to apply to convert to a pet café licence. This is because the simultaneous handling of human and pet food in the same premises creates regulatory concern of cross contamination of food. As such, SFA has additional food safety requirements, including the segregation of food preparation and storage areas for human and pet food, as well as provision of separate food receptacles for human and pets. 

For such food businesses, the additional pre-licensing requirements applicable are listed below:

In summary, the changes from 1 January 2025 are as follow.

Private Markets refer to wet markets managed by private operators that have stalls selling raw meat or raw seafood, or preparing food on-site for sale (e.g. mixing of ingredients to make yong tau foo and yellow noodles).

Private markets must have a Food Shop Licence to operate. Each stall within these private markets selling raw meat or raw seafood, or preparing food on-site for sale must also have a Food Stall Licence to operate.

The conditions and requirements can be found in the Private Market Self-Checklist.

Mobile Food Wagons are vehicles, with full-fledged food preparation kitchens, preparing and selling food.

Mobile Food Wagons are required to have a backup kitchen in a SFA-licensed establishment for disposal of wastewater and topping up of potable water every day.

The following additional pre-licensing requirements apply to Mobile Food Wagons:

SFA adopts a risk-based approach to regulating food vending machines. A licence is only required for vending machines that pose a higher food safety risk.

Vending machine operators licensed by SFA must ensure:

1. All food for sale in vending machines is obtained from licensed/approved sources, i.e. SFA-licensed central kitchens, food from licensed importers and SFA-licensed food catering operators. The sale of food from unlicensed sources/premises is strictly prohibited. SFA will take enforcement action for any infringements.
2. The list of food items for sale is communicated to SFA through the business proposal before operations commence.
3. The variety of vending machines, along with their planned and existing locations, must be detailed in the business proposal submitted to SFA via the Online Feedback Form.

You should refer to the Licensing requirements for vending machine operation for a full list of requirements.

Guidelines on Food Safety and Good Hygiene Practices for the Vending Industry

The vending machine industry is encouraged to adopt the Singapore Standard (SS) 690:2022: Guidelines on Food Safety and Good Hygiene Practices for the Vending Industry.

The standard covers the best practices in food handling and temperature control for the vending industry in dispensing pre-packed and on-site prepared ready-to-eat meals and drinks, to ensure safety and wholesomeness of these products. The standard also provides guidance to vending machine operators and suppliers on sanitation and maintenance of the vending machines when fabricating or refurbishing.

The standard, launched on 30 November 2022, can be purchased from the Singapore Standards eShop.

Mini restaurants are stalls within food courts / coffee shops / eating houses / canteens that are responsible for their own dedicated refreshment areas. The application process involves two steps.

New stall holders selling non-food items can commence operation after they have signed the tenancy agreement with the National Environment Agency or its managing agent. They do not require a SFA licence. 

Existing stall holders similarly do not require a SFA licence and they can continue their operations after they renew their tenancy agreement. SFA has informed these operators that there is no need for them to renew their licences after its expiry.

New stall holders selling food items of lower regulatory concern, namely fresh raw vegetables, pre-packed processed food, preserved food, dried food and shell eggs can commence operation after they have signed the tenancy agreement with the National Environment Agency or its managing agent. They will not require a SFA licence.  

Existing operators similarly do not require a SFA licence and they can continue operation after they renew their tenancy agreement. SFA will notify these operators before 1 January 2025 that there is no need for them to renew their licences after its expiry.

The safety of food from these stalls will continue to be regulated through standards imposed by SFA on the importers and suppliers of these food items.

• The stall number decal shall be prominently displayed at each stall according to the declared list of vendors.
• Should there be any changes (e.g. in the setup, participating stall holders, or list of items sold), the fair operator must seek approval from SFA at least 1 week before making the changes.

• Proper supporting facilities must be provided for food stalls, i.e. stalls involved in the handling/preparation of food for sale.
  
  These facilities must include all of the following:
• a proper washing facility (a sink connected to a clean piped water supply and equipped for wastewater discharge) 
• a storage with temperature control (such as freezers, chillers and food warmers)
• a display showcase for food items

Stalls without proper supporting facilities are only allowed to sell pre-packed food obtained from licensed sources.

• All food offered for sale must be obtained from licensed/approved sources. The sale of home-prepared food or those prepared by home-based food businesses is strictly prohibited.
• Food on display is to be placed in proper showcases and properly covered.
• Food handlers are to adopt appropriate food safety practices. Where it is not practical to use utensils such as tongs to handle cooked food, disposable gloves must be worn.
• All food handlers must have a valid WSQ FSC Level 1 and be registered with SFA to work at food stalls. If FSC Level 1 was attained more than 5 years ago, the food handler is required to attend the refresher course. For details, see  Requirements for Food Handlers.

Untrained food handlers are a common food safety risk at fairs. Ensure your food handlers have the necessary qualifications to avoid penalties and enforcement actions.

• All personnel engaged in the sale and preparation of food and drinks for sale must wear a mask or spit guard over their nose and mouth.
• The mask or spit guard must be capable of preventing any substance expelled from the mouth or nose from contaminating food.

• Adequate refuse bins and litter receptacles, lined with plastic bags, must be strategically placed at various locations for the disposal of waste and litter.
• Waste generated at the fair must be properly collected and sent for disposal. All structures, debris, and refuse should be removed immediately from the sites upon the fair’s conclusion.
• The sites must be maintained in a clean state at all times.

• Ensure that all staff employed at the fair are in compliance with applicable laws. If you intend to employ foreign workers, please refer to the MOM website or call the MOM Contact Centre at 6438512 for more information on your eligibility to do so.
• Ensure that unauthorised stalls are not allowed to set up at the fair sites.
• Ensure that all stalls and activities are confined to the approved sites as indicated in your layout plans.

• Dishes that include ready-to-eat raw fish, seafood, or meat, such as sushi, sashimi and raw oysters.
• Dishes prepared on-site using a mixture of raw ready-to-eat food items (e.g. salad, Vietnamese/Chinese fresh spring rolls, and Chinese/Malay rojak).
• Dishes consisting of food items displayed openly at ambient temperature for consumers to hand-pick the food items.