OPENING SPEECH BY MADAM RAHAYU MAHZAM, MINISTER OF STATE, FOR THE SECOND READING OF THE FOOD SAFETY AND SECURITY BILL

1.             Mr Speaker, as mentioned by the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, the Food Safety and Security Bill (FSSB) will contain provisions related to health promotion. It will enable the Ministry of Health (MOH) to issue, administer and enforce food-related regulations for the purposes of promoting better health for the general public.

2.             Food choices impact on nutrition and our health. Unhealthy diets increase our risk of developing chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Regulatory measures for health promotion purposes pertaining to food complement voluntary and educational efforts. MOH currently taps on the Sale of Food Act 1973 (SOFA) and its subsidiary legislation, the Food Regulations, to make such regulations. Examples include Nutri-Grade labelling and advertising prohibitions for beverages that are higher in sugar and saturated fat, and the ban on trans-fat (also known as partially hydrogenated oils or PHOs) in food.  

3.             The intention is for SOFA to be repealed and replaced by FSSB. While the primary purpose of the FSSB is for food safety and security, it would be appropriate for the FSSB to also support better population health and nutrition, given the close link between food, health and nutrition. This will allow MOH to continue with our current health promotion measures that are in place under SOFA, and to implement additional measures, if needed, to improve population health in the future.

4.             A key difference between SOFA and FSSB is that the FSSB will provide the Minister for Health with statutory powers to make food-related regulations for health promotion purposes. Today, such regulations are administered and enforced by MOH, but made with powers vested with the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment under SOFA. The FSSB will allow for clearer delineation of Ministerial responsibilities between the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment and the Minister for Health, while allowing MSE and MOH to regulate the food supply chain for our respective purposes under a common regulatory regime. 

Provisions in the FSSB for better health and nutrition

5.              Key provisions in the FSSB for better health and nutrition are consolidated under Part 9.

6.             Under Part 9, Clause 174 of the FSSB sets out the types of food regulations (known as Part 9 Regulations) that the Minister for Health is empowered to make for health promotion purposes. They broadly fall under two categories.

7.             The first category is “more stringent regulations” that apply only to “target food”. These include regulations to prohibit import of a food; prohibit or restrict the way a food is manufactured, supplied or used in the manufacture or preparation of other foods; prohibit or restrict the way the public acquire or access a food; and require warnings to be included in food advertisements or food labels. An example of an existing regulation that falls in this category is the ban on PHOs, which currently prohibits the import of any edible fat or oil that contains PHO for use as an ingredient in other foods, and the use of edible fat or oil that contains PHO in the manufacture of other foods.

8.             In making more stringent regulations, the Minister for Health will need to determine a non-communicable disease (NCD) of public health interest and identify the “target food”. Let me use the PHO ban as an example to show how this works. The PHO ban aims to reduce the population’s consumption of artificial trans-fat which is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease. To continue with the PHO ban under the FSSB, the Minister for Health will need to determine that cardiovascular disease is an NCD of public health interest. This may be done in consultation with the Director-General of Health and the public will be notified of this determination. PHO will be identified as a target food as it contributes to the occurrence of an NCD of public health interest. More stringent regulations that continue the current PHO ban may then be made as subsidiary legislation under the FSSB.  

9.             The other category of regulations can apply to all foods. These include regulations to restrict import of a food; prohibit or restrict content used in advertisements or labels of a food; require display of prescribed dietary and nutritional information about the food at food premises; and prohibit or restrict the medium or way in which food is advertised, sponsored or promoted for sale. An example of an existing regulation in this category is the prohibition of claims on the advertisements or labels of infant formulas that idealise its use or compares it to breast milk.

10.          MOH intends for the existing food regulations for health promotion purposes to continue under the FSSB. Should there be any new regulations, MOH and the Health Promotion Board will appropriately consult the public and industry to ensure that measures are practicable and implementable, as per our current practice.

11.          For regulations to be effective and meet their policy intent, they need to be enforced appropriately. To support the enforcement of any Part 9 regulation, the FSSB will empower the Director-General of Health to appoint enforcement officers, who are referred to as Part 9 enforcement officers in the Bill. The investigating powers provided to such enforcement officers are outlined in Part 13 of the Bill.

12.          Beyond being provided with investigating powers, enforcement officers may also issue a remedial notice to require a person to remedy a contravention of any Part 9 regulation within a specified period, including directions to take reasonable steps to do so. Non-compliance with the remedial notice without a reasonable excuse will be an offence. The main intent is to limit the impact of a contravention on the general public. Enforcement officers will issue a remedial notice if it is appropriate to give the person an opportunity to remedy the contravention. Otherwise, MOH may prosecute a person for the contravention of a Part 9 Regulation without first giving a remedial notice.  

Closing

13.          Let me conclude. A safer and more resilient food system that can also support better population health and nutrition is aligned with our ongoing efforts to strengthen preventive care, and will empower Singaporeans to lead healthier lifestyles. Thank you.