7. Importation Requirements

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7. Importation Requirements

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Infant, Follow-up, Young Child Formula
Singapore

This section provides information on the importation process (shipment, customs, licenses required, and test requirements).

7.1 Shipment Declaration

Category

Special Purpose Foods [1]

This category should comply with the same importation requirements as those for “General Foods”.

Product

Infant Formula, Follow-up Formula, and Young Child Formula

Same as "Category" (Special Purpose Foods) above.

7.2 Customs Procedure

Category

Special Purpose Foods [2,3,4]

This category should comply with the same customs procedural steps as those for “General Foods”.

Product

Infant Formula, Follow-up Formula, and Young Child Formula

Same as "Category" (Special Purpose Foods) above.

7.3 Manufacturing License

Category

Special Purpose Foods [5]

Not required.

Product

1) Infant Formula and Follow-up Formula

For infant formula and follow-up formula (which falls under the classification of infant formula), regulated source documentation including factory license is submitted as documentary proof one time via the SFA Online Feedback Form or TradeNet unless there are changes in sources of supply (see Section 6 - Registration Processes).

2) Young Child Formula

Same as "Category" (Special Purpose Foods) above.

7.4 Test for Importation

Category

Special Purpose Foods [6]

This category shall comply with the same importation test parameters as those for “General Foods”. There is a non-exhaustive list of additional parameters that may be tested for each product depending on the risks and hazards associated with the food.

Product

1) Infant Formula and Follow-up Formula [6]

In addition to submission of health certificate or manufacturer’s quality control (QC) reports on chemical and microbiological tests once every 6 months as part of the import requirements, importers may be required to test for the following parameters if requested by the Singapore Food Agency:

Chemical: Heavy metals, Melamine, Pesticide residues, Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).
Microbiological: Clostridium botulinum, Campylobacter, Listeria monocytogenes, Bacillus enterotoxins.

2) Young Child Formula

Same as "Category" (Special Purpose Foods) above.

7.5 Other Notes or Requirements for Importation

Category

Special Purpose Foods

None.

Product

Infant Formula, Follow-up Formula, and Young Child Formula [5,6,7]

- Importers of infant formula, follow-up formula, and young child formula have to apply with the Singapore Food Agency for "Registration to Import Processed Food Products and Food Appliances" through submission of an application through the GoBusiness Licensing website: https://www.gobusiness.gov.sg/licences. Registration is free and it takes 1 working day to process.

- All food consignments are subject to inspection. Some samples may also be taken by SFA for laboratory analysis.

- In some cases, consignments may be placed on “hold and test” (i.e. the consignment cannot be sold or distributed until the laboratory results have been released and the sample found compliant with Singapore food laws).

- Importers are advised to make an online booking through the Singapore Food Agency Inspection & Laboratory e-Services https://ifast.sfa.gov.sg/eserviceweb for the inspection of imported processed food. Importers will not receive the results of ad hoc inspections done without bookings. Importers need to check with SFA for the results of ad hoc inspections.

- Guideline of online booking for inspections can be found at:

- Documents required for the inspection:

Cargo Clearance Permit (CPP issued by SFA)
Any relevant documents, e.g. invoices and health certificates, and
The consignment of food for inspection

In case consignments that fail to meet SFA’s requirements will not be allowed to be sold or distributed in Singapore, importers of such consignments will have to return or dispose of them. For consignments found to be contaminated with radioactive materials, importers are required to either return or re-export the products. Local disposal of the consignments is not allowed.

Depending on the nature of the non-compliance, the source and/or exporter may be suspended from exporting to Singapore. Importers of non-compliant products may also be suspended from importing from these sources/exporters.

Infant Formula and Follow-up Formula [6]

The import requirements for infant formula, and follow-on formula (age 0-12 months) are as follows, to be submitted to Singapore Food Agency:

(a) Submission of documentary proof (one-time submission) that the imported infant formulas are manufactured in a premise regulated by the competent authority (e.g. certified true copy of the manufacturer's license). This requirement coincides with the submitted documentary proof requirement for the manufacturing site mentioned in Section 6 (Registration Processes). The importer only needs to do it once via SFA's online feedback form or TradeNet.

(b) Product from Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) free countries: Submission of health certificate (every consignment) during import permit application that must contain the following attestation by the relevant competent authority of the exporting country

Products are produced using milk ingredients originating from FMD-free countries.
Liquid milk used is pasteurized by heating at a min 72oC for a minimum of 15 seconds or an equivalent process.

(c) Product from FMD-affected countries: Submission of health certificate (every consignment) during import permit application that must contain the following attestation by the relevant competent authority of the exporting country:

a sterilization process applying a minimum temperature of 132°C for at least one second (ultra-high temperature [UHT]), or
if the milk has a pH less than 7.0, a sterilization process applying a minimum temperature of 72°C for at least 15 seconds (high temperature - short time pasteurization [HTST]), or
if the milk has a pH of 7.0 or over, the HTST process is applied twice.

(d) The health certificate should include the following information:

Description of the products including brand name and nature of product;
Quantity in the appropriate units;
Lot identifier and date of production;
Name and address of the manufacturer or the processing establishment
Name and address of the importer or consignee;
Name and address of the exporter or consignor;
Country of dispatch;
Country of destination

(e) Submission of health certificate or manufacturer’s quality control (QC) reports on chemical and microbiological tests once every 6 months:

Chemical: Aflatoxin M1
Microbiological:
- Powdered formulas:
  1. Enterobacteriaceae
  2. Escherichia coli
  3. Enterobacter sakazakii (Cronobacter spp)
  4. Salmonella spp.
  5. Staphylococcus enterotoxin (or Stapylococcus aureus)
- Liquid formulas in hermetically sealed containers: Sterility test