A Guide To Food Labelling And Advertisements

Food packed in a liquid medium 2 will be required to haveboth “net weight” and “drained weight” declared.Examples of products that require drained weightdeclaration:(i) Products with liquid packing medium which is drainedaway prior to consumption of the product. The productsinclude canned seafood in brine e.g. abalone, pacificclams, tuna, crabmeat and canned vegetables in brinesuch as button mushrooms, whole corn kernels,chickpeas, gingko nuts in water.(ii) Preserved/pickled products in liquid medium with salt,vinegar or sugar. The liquid medium is neither drainedaway nor consumed. The products include pickled greenchilli, cucumbers, onions, capers, mustard greens,preserved ginger, salted plums.(iii) Canned fruit and vegetable packed in juices or sugarsyrups. For this instance, juice content is not a decisivefactor to purchase.The products include cannedrambutans in pineapple juice, peaches, pears, lychees,longans in light syrup, fruit cocktail in syrup.Examples of products that do not require drained weightdeclaration:(i) Products for drinking which contain solid bits. For suchproducts, the liquid portion forms the most part of theproduct. These products include grass jelly drink, fruitjuice with aloe vera bits, juice drink with nata de coco,birds’ nest flavoured drink with jelly, bottled hashimadessert.(ii) Products containing solid food in gravy, paste or saucewhich are meant to be consumed as a dish. Theproducts include shark’s fin soup, peanut soup, currychicken, sardines and baked beans in tomato sauce,fried gluten in soy sauce, braised peanuts and2Liquid medium is defined as water, aqueous solutions of sugar and salt, fruit and vegetablejuices in canned fruits and vegetables only, or vinegar, either singly or in combination.9

vegetarian mock meat in soy sauce, kimchi andsauerkraut.(iii) Products containing solid food in oil predominantly. Theproducts include canned seafood such as tuna,anchovies in vegetable oil, sundried tomato in oil andfermented beancurd.(iv) Products containing solid food with small amount ofwater due to syneresis. The products include beancurdand jelly.Note: The above examples are not exhaustive and are for illustrationonly. Companies may approach SFA on the declaration of “drainedweight” for specific products.For frozen food that has been glazed with ice, both the“gross weight” and “net weight” shall be declared. The netweight declared for such product must exclude the weight ofthe ice glazing. For example, the net content declaration ofglazed sutchi fish fillet will be declared as “Gross weight offish: 1000g; Net weight of fish: 800g.The information stated in paragraph (a), (b), (c) and (d) shouldbe in printed letters not less than 1.5 mm in height.(e) Name and address of the local manufacturer, produceror importerThe name and address of the local manufacturer, producer,packer or vendor should be printed on the labels of foods oflocal origin.In the case of an imported food, the label should indicate thename and address of the local importer, distributor or agent.Telegraphic, facsimile and post office addresses alone arenot acceptable.10

(f) Country of origin of foodThe name of the country of origin of the food should beindicated on the labels for imported foods. The name of acity, town or province alone is not acceptable.ExemptionsLabelling requirements do not apply under these conditions:(i) food weighed, counted or measured in the presence of thepurchaser.(ii) food that is loosely packed at the retailer’s premises.(iii) intoxicating liquors are not required to carry a statement ofingredients on their labels.Points to notePrepacked foods that are intended for human consumption andoffered as a price, reward or sample for the purpose ofadvertising are required to comply with the labellingrequirements stated under “General Labelling Requirements”.Recipes or suggestions or pictorial illustrations on how to serveprepacked foods may be included on food labels only if they areclosely accompanied by the words “Recipe” or “ServingSuggestion”, in printed letters of a minimum of 1.5 mm in height.11

Additional Labelling RequirementsDate-marking of expiry dateThe prepacked foods listed in Table 2 are required to be labelledwith their expiry dates. Expiry date refers to the date after whichthe food may not retain its normal nature and quality.The expiry date should be qualified by words like "USE BY","SELL BY", "EXPIRY DATE", "BEST BEFORE" or other wordsof similar meaning. Where the validity of the date mark isdependent on its storage, the storage direction of that food mustbe stated on the label or package. For example: "BESTBEFORE : 31 Dec 2018. Store in a cool, dry place."The date-marking must be permanently marked or embossed onthe package, and printed in letters not less than 3mm in height.Table 2List of prepacked foods that is required to bedate-marked with their expiry dates1.2.3.4.5.6.7.Cream, reduced cream, light cream,whipped cream and sour cream excludingsterilised canned cream.Cultured milk and cultured milk drink.Pasteurised milk and pasteurised milkdrink.Yoghurt, low-fat yoghurt, fat-reducedyoghurt, non-fat yoghurt and yoghurtproducts.Pasteurised fruit juice and pasteurised fruitjuice drink.Pasteurisedvegetablejuiceandpasteurised vegetable juice drink.Tofu, "taufu" or "doufu", a soya beancurdproduct made of basically soya beans,water and a coagulant, including "egg tofu","taukau" or "dougan", and the soft soyabeancurd dessert known as "tauhui", "tofa",Format of datemarkingThe year of the datemark is optional. Forexample, the expirydate of pasteurisedmilk can be declaredas "31 May 18" or "31May".12

8.9.10.11.12.13.14.15.16.17.18.19.3or "douhua", but excluding the oil fried tofuin the form of a pouch known as "taupok",and the fried beancurd stick.Food which is stored or required to bestored at a chilling temperature to maintainor prolong its durable life, including readyto-eat minimally processed fruits andvegetables 3such as cut fruits andvegetables but excluding all other forms ofraw fruits and vegetables.Vitaminised fruit juice and vitaminised fruitjuice drink.Vitaminised vegetable juice and vitaminisedvegetable juice drink.Liquid milk and liquid milk productsexcluding condensed milk, sweetenedcondensed milk, evaporated milk andcanned sterilized milk and milk products.Flour.Salad dressing.Mayonnaise.Raisins and sultanas.Chocolate, milk chocolate and chocolateconfectionery in which the characteristicingredient is chocolate or cocoa, with orwithout the addition of fruits or nuts.Breakfast-cereal with or without fruit andnuts except cereal in cans.Infants' food.Edible cooking oils.The day of the datemark is optional. Forexample, the expirydate of infants' foodcan be declared aseither "31 May 18" or"May 18".Minimally processed fruits and vegetables refer to fresh fruits and vegetables that have beenpeeled, cored, sliced, chopped, shredded, prior to being packaged for sale and/or ready forconsumption.13

Foods containing sweetening agentsThe Thirteenth Schedule of the Food Regulations lists the foodcategories and the maximum permitted levels for use of thesesweetening agents: acesulfame-K, saccharin and its calcium,potassium and sodium salts, cyclamic acid and its calcium andsodium salts, neotame, steviol glycosides and sucralose.Tables 3 (a) & (b) list the food categories which are required tolabel with advisory statements on consumption by children ifcertain sweetening agents are added at the maximumpermissible levels.Table 3 (a): Food categories that require an advisory statement onproduct labels that children 9 years old and below should notconsume more than 2 servings a day, based on serving size of250mL.CategoryDairy-based drinks(flavoured and/orfermented)Sweetening agents and the maximumpermissible levelWhen added with(i) 350ppm acesulfame-K and/or(ii) 250ppm cyclamates (as cyclamic acid)Fruit drinksWhen added with(i) 350ppm acesulfame-K and/or(ii) 250ppm cyclamates (as cyclamicacid) and/or(iii) 125ppm steviol glycosides (as steviol)Vegetable juice drinksWhen added with(i) 350ppm acesulfame-K and/or(ii) 400ppm cyclamates (as cyclamicacid) and/or(iii) 125ppm steviol glycosides (as steviol)14

Table 3 (b): Food categories that require an advisory statement onproduct labels that children 9 years old and below should notconsume more than 1 serving a day, based on serving size of 140g.CategoryCanned or bottled(pasteurised) fruitSweetening agents and the maximumpermissible levelWhen added with(i) 1000ppm cyclamates (as cyclamic acid)Special purpose foodsSpecial purpose foods are foods formulated to cater for thespecial dietary needs of specific group of consumers. Theseproducts are usually food substance modified, prepared orcompounded so as to possess nutritive and assimilativeproperties to meet the special dietary need of these individuals.The products may be added with vitamins, minerals, aminoacids and other nutrient supplements permitted under the FoodRegulations. Special purpose foods must be labelled clearly itsspecial suitability such as diabetic food, low sodium food,gluten-free food, low protein food, carbohydrate-modified food,low calorie food, energy food, infant formula and formulatedfood. They should also meet the nutrition labelling requirements(refer to “Nutrition Labelling” for more information).Sugar-free foodsSpecial purpose foods may only be labelled as “sugar-free” orwords of similar meaning if they contain equal or less than 0.5gsugar per 100g or 100ml.Sugars refer to simple carbohydratesthat are molecules of either single sugar units(monosaccharides) or pairs of those sugar units (disaccharides)bonded together. They include hexose monosaccharides anddisaccharides (e.g., dextrose, fructose, sucrose and lactose),starch hydrolysate, glucose syrups, maltodextrin and sugarsderived at a sugar refinery (e.g., icing sugar, invert sugar, fruitsugar syrup).15

Low-calorie foodsLow-calorie foods refer to special purpose foods that aresuitable for individuals adopting a restricted diet by the caloriecontent. Table 4 shows the type of low-calorie food and thepermissible calorie content:Table 4Food typeBeverages (ready for consumption)Calorie content(less or equal to thestipulated amount)8 kcal/100 mlBread spreads including jam substitutes100 kcal/100 gAll other foods50 kcal/ 100 gDiabetic foodsDiabetic foods refer to special purpose foods that areparticularly suitable for diabetics. The nutrition informationpanel of these products should also include a statementindicating the type of the carbohydrates present in the foodsuch as sugar and starch.Infants’ food and infant formulaInfants’ food is any food suitable for infants4 and includes infantformula formulated for infants from birth to 6 months of age.Infants’ food for infants over the age of 6 months is intended forfeeding infants as a complementary food.Details on the labelling requirements for these foods can befound under regulations 251 to 254 of the Food Regulations.4The Food Regulations define “infant” as a person not more than 12 months of age.16

No label or advertisement for infants’ food, other than infantformula formulated for infants from birth to 6 months of age,shall state or imply that such food is suitable for infants of orbelow 6 months of age. In addition, the promotion, marketingand distribution practices of infant formula should comply withthe requirements of the “Code of Ethics on the Sale of InfantFoods in Singapore”. This Code is administered by the Sale ofInfant Foods Ethics Committee Singapore (SIFECS) which isadministered by the Health Promotion Board (HPB). The softcopy of the code can be downloaded from the following /SIFECS%20Code%20of%20EthicsEnquiries on SIFECS matters may be sent to the email address:HPB SIFECS@hpb.gov.sgNutrition labellingNutrition labelling is required when nutrition claims, or permittedhealth claims are made. More information about these claimscan be found in the following topics of this material. The FoodRegulations require nutrient declaration in an acceptablenutrition information panel, for prepacked foods for whichnutrition claims are made. The information to be declared in thepanel includes the energy, protein, fat and carbohydratecontents of the food. Declaration of other nutrients is mandatorywhen such nutrients are the subject of a nutrition claim. Anacceptable nutrition information panel, which can also be foundin the Twelfth Schedule of the Food Regulations, is shown inTable 5.17

Table 5 : Form for Nutrition Information PanelServings per package (here insert number of servings)*Serving size: (here insert the serving size)*Per Serving* orPer 100 g(or 100mL)Energykcal, kJ or bothkcal, kJ or bothProteinggFatggCarbohydrategg(here insert the nutrients for whichnutrition claims are made, or anyother nutrients to be declared)**gg* Applicable only if the nutrients are declared on a per serving basis.** Amounts of sodium, potassium and cholesterol are to be declared inmg.Note: Refer Twelfth Schedule of the Food Regulations or HPB’s“Handbook on Nutrition Labelling”, which may be downloaded from thefollowing website, df?sfvrsn 0Additional requirements for foods claimed to be source ofenergy or proteinFoods claimed to be a source of energy are required to state ontheir labels the quantity of that food to be consumed in one day,which should yield at least 300 kcal. The labels should alsoinclude an acceptable nutrition information panel.Foods claimed to be a source or an excellent source of proteinshould include on the label the quantity of that food to be18

consumed in one day, and an acceptable nutrition informationpanel. To claim as a source of protein, at least 12% of the totalcalorie yield of the food should be derived from protein. Toclaim as an excellent source of protein, at least 20% of the totalcalorie yield of the food should be derived from protein. Inaddition, the amount of food stated on the label as the quantityto be consumed in one day should also contain at least 10g ofprotein.Examples of the daily recommendation statement are“Recommended daily intake: 3 servings”; “Add 20g powder in200ml water. Drink 2 times daily.”Specific labelling requirements for certain food categoriesSpecific labelling requirements are stipulated for certain foodcategories under their individual specification standards. Pleaserefer to Table 6 for examples of food categories with specificlabelling requirements.Table 6Food typeIrradiated foodWholegrainBakery productsEdible fats and oilsMilkCoffee (coffee and chicory, coffee mixture,instant or soluble coffee and chicory)Fruit juiceNatural mineral waterFruit wineCompounded liquorInfant formulaRiceFood RegulationsRegulation 38Regulation 40ARegulation 53Regulation 79Regulation 109Regulation 158, 159, 161Regulation 171Regulation 183ARegulation 195Regulation 210Regulation 254Regulation 26019

Advisory statementsProducts containing the ingredients listed below would need tobe labelled with the relevant advisory statements or any otherstatements to the same effect.AspartameRegulation 5(4)(f)Royal jellyRegulation 151ANatural mineral watercontaining more than 1ppmof fluorideRegulation 183A“Phenylketonurics: Containsphenyalanine”“Warning: This product may not besuitable for asthma and allergy sufferers.”“Contains fluoride”Natural mineral watercontaining more than 1.5ppm “Contains fluoride. The product is notof fluoridesuitable for infants and children underthe age of seven years”Regulation 183A20

Prohibited Claims on Food Labels andAdvertisementsUnder regulation 9 of the Food Regulations, false or misleadingstatement, word, brand, picture, or mark purporting to indicatethe nature, stability, quantity, strength, purity, composition,weight, origin, age, effects, or proportion of the food or anyingredients are not allowed to be used on food labels andadvertisements, unless otherwise specified.The use of claims for therapeutic or prophylactic action; claimswhich could be interpreted as advice of a medical nature fromany person; claims that a food will prevent, alleviate or cure anydisease or condition affecting the human body; and claims thathealth or an improved physical condition may be achieved byconsuming any food, is also prohibited.21

Use of Nutrition Claims and Health ClaimsNutrition claimsNutrition claims are claims that suggest or imply a food has anutritive property or the comparison of the nutritive property interms of energy, salt (sodium or potassium), amino acids,carbohydrates, cholesterol, fats, fatty acids, fibre, protein,starch or sugars, vitamins or minerals, or any other nutrients.Examples of nutrition claims are "Low in calories", "Sugar free"and “Reduced sodium”. Nutrition claims are allowed as long asthe requirements of the Food Regulations and the nutrientclaims guidelines published in “A Handbook on NutritionLabelling” by Singapore’s Health Promotion Board (HPB) arecomplied with.Foods that carry claims on the presence of vitamins and/orminerals, including claims relating to “a source of”vitamins/minerals, are required to contain at least one-sixth ofthe daily allowance as laid down in Table I for the relevantvitamin or mineral, per reference quantity for that food as laiddown in Table II.Foods that claim to be an excellent source (including words like“good”, “rich” and “high”) of vitamins and/or minerals arerequired to contain at least 50% of the daily allowance as laiddown in Table I for the relevant vitamin or mineral, perreference quantity for that food as laid down in Table II.22

TABLE IVITAMINS AND MINERALSSubstancesTo be calculated asDaily AllowanceVitamin A, vitamin Aalcohol and esters,carotenesMicrograms of retinolactivity750 mcgVitamin B1, aneurine,thiamine, thiaminehydrochloride,thiamine mononitrateMilligrams of thiamine1 mgVitamin B2, riboflavinMilligrams of riboflavin1.5 mgVitamin B6, pyridoxine, Milligrams of pyridoxaminepyridoxal,pyridoxamine2.0 mgVitamin B12,cobalamin,cyanocobalaminMicrograms ofcyanocobalamin2.0 m

0 A Guide to Food Labelling and Advertisements A publication of the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) First published Feb 2010. Amendments Oct 2011, Oct 2013, Jul 2014, Jan 2015, Jul 2015, Mar 2016, Aug 2018, Feb