Overview
All foods sold in Singapore must comply with the Food Regulations and Sale of Food Act. To safeguard the health of Singapore residents, the Health Promotion Board (HPB) and Ministry of Health (MOH) will oversee food regulations relevant to health and nutrition labelling for food products, while the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) will continue to ensure that food made available for sale in Singapore are safe for consumption.
Labelling and advertising requirements
All packaged food products for sale in Singapore must ensure that labels, advertisements and materials that inform sales are in accordance to requirements set out in the Food Regulations.
Businesses should also refer to the following resources for guidance on labelling and advertising of their products:
Nutrition labelling
(i) Compositional requirements
All food labels, advertisements and materials that inform sales, cannot contain false or misleading information about the composition of food or its ingredients (Regulation 9).
Businesses must comply with the following regulations:
A) The use of edible fat or oil that contains partially hydrogenated oil is prohibited and may not be used as an ingredient in the manufacture of food (Regulation 36A). Learn more about the Ban on Partially Hydrogenated Oil (PHOs) here.
B) Labelling of certain food products, such as wholegrain or wholemeal bread, edible fats and oils, margarine, wholegrain foods and special purpose foods must comply with specified requirements (Regulations 40A, 53(2), 79, 91, 248).
(ii) Nutrition Information Panel (NIP)
Information on the Nutrition Information Panel (NIP) helps consumers to compare the nutrients among foods and can be declared in per 100g (or 100mL for liquid food) and/or per serving of the product. The declaration of “serving size” and “servings per package” will be required when the nutrients are declared on a per serving basis.
Under the Food Regulations, an NIP is required for prepacked food products that:
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Carry a health or nutrition claim;
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Contain edible fats and oils;
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Are Nutri-Grade beverages;
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Are special purpose foods.
Where a NIP is required, the NIP must include the following list of nutrients and respective amounts, as well as any other nutrients associated with a health or nutrition claim made (Regulation 8A):
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Energy value in kcal, kJ or both
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Amount of Protein, in g
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Amount of Fat, in g
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Amount of Carbohydrate, in g
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Amount of any other nutrient(s) that are the subject of a health or nutrition claim
To help you generate an NIP, please visit: https://focos.hpb.gov.sg/eservices/NIP/
(iii) Nutri-Grade labelling for beverages
All Nutri-Grade beverages are required to carry an NIP. This is in addition to the Nutri-Grade mark for Nutri-Grade C or D beverages. Learn more about the Nutri-Grade labelling and, advertising prohibitions measures, and to generate a Nutri-Grade mark for your pre-packaged product here.
(iv) Healthier Choice Symbol (HCS)
The Healthier Choice Symbol is a voluntary front of pack label for consumers to identify packaged food products that are healthier compared to other foods in the same category. Learn more information and application details for the HCS here.
(v) Infants’ food and formula
Labelling and marketing of infants’ food and formula must comply with the requirements specified within the Food Regulations as well as the Sale of Infant Food Ethics Committee Singapore (SIFECS) Code of Ethics, which guides practices of the Infant Food Industry as well as protect and promote the practice of breastfeeding.
Businesses should note that all labels, advertisements, and materials that inform sales for:
A) Infant food, excluding infant formula for ages 0-6 months, must not suggest that the food is appropriate for infants aged 6 months or younger (Regulations 251(2A)).
B) Infant formula, for ages 0-12 months, must not be directly compared with breast milk and businesses must avoid prohibited matters or idealised health claims (Regulation 254(3)).
Health and Nutrition Claims
All claims used on food labels, advertisements, and materials that inform sales, must not be false, misleading or prohibited.
To find out the requirements for making nutrition claims on your food product, please use the Vitamins and Nutrients Calculator.
(i) Health claims
A health claim states, suggests, or implies that a relationship exists between consumption of a food product and health.
Examples include:
A) Nutrient function claims which describe the health effect of a nutrient in growth, development and normal functions of the body e.g. “Calcium helps to build strong bones and teeth”.
B) Other function claims which describe the health effect of other food constituents e.g. “Probiotics helps in digestion”.
C) Reduction of disease risk claims which describe the reduced risk of developing a disease or health-related condition when consuming a food as part of an overall healthy diet e.g. “A healthy diet rich in fibre-containing foods such as wholegrains, fruits and vegetables may reduce the risk of some types of cancers”.
Note: New claims pertaining to reduction of disease risk, must be gazetted in the Food Regulations, before businesses may use them on their food products.
(ii) Nutrition claims
A nutrition claim suggests or implies that a food has a nutritive property. Food labels containing nutrition claims must be supported by a Nutrition Information Panel.
Examples include claims like “High in fibre”, “Low in fat”, “Cholesterol free”, “Sugar free”.
To use health and nutrition claims on food products, businesses can refer to the list of approved claims within HPB’s Guide to Nutrition Labelling and justify use of the claims by meeting the criteria set out.
All health and nutrition claims on food products must be verifiable based on scientific evidence. If the food products fulfil the criteria set out in the list of approved claims, companies are not required to register or submit any supporting documents/laboratory tests prior to using claims on their food products. Post-market surveillance will be conducted by the relevant authorities to ensure that the regulations are complied with. It is important to note that unless permitted by Food Regulations 9A or 9B, food products must not include claims or suggestions that implies:
A) the food has therapeutic or prophylactic action;
B) the food will prevent alleviate or cure any disease or condition affecting the human body; or
C) an improved physical condition may be achieved by consuming the food.
It must also not include any claim or suggestion that may be interpreted as advice of a medical nature from any person whatsoever.