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In forceAmendedUpdated to 1 Jul 2026
Contents

Part 1 · Preliminary

4. Meaning of “food”

Amended

Last amended by an amending law of 2026.

(1)

In this Act, “food” includes the following:

(a)

any substance or thing of a kind used, capable of being used, or represented as being for use, for human consumption (whether it is live, raw, prepared or partly prepared);

(b)

any substance or thing of a kind used, capable of being used, or represented as being for use, as an ingredient or food additive in a substance or thing referred to in paragraph (a);

(c)

any substance used in preparing a substance or thing referred to in paragraph (a) (other than a substance used in preparing a living thing);

(d)

chewing gum or an ingredient or food additive in chewing gum, or any substance used in preparing chewing gum;

(e)

any substance or thing declared by the Minister, by order in the Gazette, to be a food.

(2)

Without limiting subsection (1), “food” includes —

(a)

fresh fruits and vegetables;

(b)

other plants intended for human consumption (including seeds that are intended to be sprouted and consumed as sprouts) but not plants intended for propagation or from which further plants may be propagated;

(c)

packaged drinking water;

(d)

any thing that is or is intended to be mixed with or added to any food or drink;

(e)

meat and meat products;

(f)

fish and fish products; and

(g)

eggs and egg products.

(3)

Despite subsection (1), this Act does not apply to any of the following:

(a)

any health product within the meaning of section 2(1) of the Health Products Act 2007;

(b)

any substance that is a medicinal product within the meaning of section 3 of the Medicines Act 1975;

(c)

any thing that is or contains any controlled drug, psychoactive substance, controlled material or controlled substance within the meaning of section 2 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1973;

(d)

any poison within the meaning of section 2 of the Poisons Act 1938, and which is represented for use in a manner not ordinarily associated with food for human consumption or with supplementing human dietary intake;

(e)

any cosmetics;

(f)

any thing that is or contains any tobacco product or tobacco substitute within the meaning of section 2(1) of the Tobacco and Vaporisers Control Act 1993;

(g)

any packaging (except edible packaging);

(h)

any thing that is or contains any animal feed;

(i)

any thing that is or contains any substance or thing declared by the Minister, by order in the Gazette, not to be food for the purposes of this Act.

(4)

A substance, thing or chewing gum described in subsection (1) is food regardless of whether or not it is in a condition fit for human consumption.

(5)

To avoid doubt, “food” may include live animals and plants.

Part 2

Strengthening Resilience of Food Supplies in Singapore

Part 3

Import, Export and Transhipment

Part 4

Food Businesses

Part 5

Defined Food and Pre-Market Approval

Part 6

Provision of Non-Packaged Drinking Water

Part 7

Food Safety and Sustainable Primary Production Measures

Part 8

Offences Relating to Food Safety

Part 9

Food and Health Promotion

Part 10

Misleading or Deceptive Conduct and Other Marketing Offences

Part 11

Certain Agri-Food Production Inputs

Part 12

Appeals

Part 13

Monitoring and Enforcement

Part 14

Administration

Part 15

Regulations and Codes

Part 16

Miscellaneous

Part 17

Amendments to Other Acts and Final Provisions

Schedules