New food safety grading system from Jan 19; businesses with consistent track records will get higher grades
SINGAPORE – The food safety grading system in Singapore will from Jan 19 be replaced with a new framework that focuses more on an establishment’s track record of ensuring food safety, rather than yearly snapshot assessments.
The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) announced the new scheme, dubbed the Safety Assurance for Food Establishments (SAFE) framework, on Jan 7.
The new framework will apply to an estimated 45,000 SFA-licensed food establishments, including food caterers, restaurants, bakeries, hawker stalls and food carts, SFA said.
Under the existing grading system,
food establishments are graded A, B, C, or D based on an annual assessment by SFA. The current system has been in place for close to three decades.
Outlets are graded based on the overall hygiene, cleanliness and housekeeping standards of the premises in a “snapshot assessment”.
According to previous media reports, a food establishment which scores 85 per cent and above is graded A. Scoring between 70 per cent and 84 per cent gets a B, 50 per cent and 69 per cent gets a C, and 40 per cent and 49 per cent gets a D.
This scheme provides an indication of an establishment’s food safety standards at the point of assessment, but does not reflect whether these standards are consistently maintained.
Under the new framework, however, food establishments with consistent good food safety track records will attain higher grades, SFA said.
Those with poor food safety track records will receive lower grades, and will be subjected to more frequent inspections, the agency added in a press statement.
For example, a food establishment will receive a grade A if it has a good track record of more than three years. If there is a major lapse in ensuring food safety, such as if the establishment receives a court conviction for food safety-related offences, it will be immediately downgraded to grade C.
Food establishments that have been operating for less than a year will begin with a “New” grade to help consumers differentiate them from operators with established track records.
SFA will automatically assign existing food establishments a starting grade under the SAFE framework based on their current food safety track records, which will be available to the food establishments as well as the public from Jan 19.
Members of the public can find out an establishment’s safety grade by scanning the QR code on the SFA licence displayed at the food establishment or by checking SFA’s website at go.gov.sg/sfa-track-records.
SFA’s director-general for food administration Tan Lee Kim said the new framework offers a more effective way to assess food safety performance.
“By recognising food establishments which consistently maintain high standards, we strengthen food safety across the industry while empowering consumers to make informed choices,” she said.
“This is the outcome of extensive engagement with industry stakeholders and SFA will work with food establishments through this transition.”
The new framework will also differentiate food establishments into two categories, based on the level of food processing or preparation involved.
Category 1 includes food establishments involved in “significant processing or preparation of food”. They include food caterers, restaurants with kitchen size of 16 sq m or more and food processing establishments. There are about 11,500 licensees under this category.
Category 2 establishments are considered to be engaged in “low or moderate levels of food processing or preparation”. They include bakeries, pubs and bars, as well as food stalls in hawker centres and food courts. There are about 33,5000 licensees in this category.
In the second phase of the framework implementation, which has yet to be announced, food establishments under Category 1 will be subjected to more stringent requirements to attain and maintain grade A as they are engaged in a larger scale of food processing or preparation.
On top of maintaining their food safety track record, Category 1 food establishments must meet two additional food safety requirements to attain or maintain an A grade.
They have to appoint an advanced food hygiene officer and implement a food safety management system. More details for the second phase will be announced by 2027, SFA said.
Advanced food hygiene officers must, among other things, establish and oversee the food safety standards of their food establishment by developing, implementing, and managing food safety management systems.
A food safety management system is a holistic system of controls to identify, prevent and reduce hazards at every stage of the food handling and preparation stage, from receiving ingredients to serving customers.
But SFA said that even before the second phase is implemented, Category 1 food establishments with no grade C record can also apply to attain an A grade in a shorter time.
This is provided that they have at least one year of good food safety track records, appoint an advanced food hygiene officer and implement a certified food safety management system.
The latest update follows an SFA announcement in 2021 that it will be introducing, from 2023, a new food safety grading system.
At that time, SFA said the new system would consider an establishment’s track record, and replace the existing letter-grade system with bronze, silver, and gold awards.
The Straits Times has asked SFA for an update on this scheme.