Health Certificate Requirements for Importing Yeast for Fermented Food

Health Certificate Requirements for Importing Yeast for Fermented Food
Singapore

The below version control table serves to document all updates made to the report. The purpose is to ensure the information is always accurate and up-to-date.

1.  Is a health certificate or certificate of free sale required by authorities for the import of yeasts?

i. Health certificate

A Health Certificate is an official document issued by the relevant authority regulating the product to traders for export purposes. For food products exported out of Singapore, it is issued by SFA, the Singapore Food Agency, as an official sanitary certification stating that the product is safe, wholesome, and meets the country/region's requirements [1].             

Figure 1: Extract from SFA Website, Commercial Food Exports [1]

For importation into Singapore, SFA has imposed specific import documentation requirements including health certificates for certain food categories such as dairy and meat products, but not yeast. Such health certificates will be issued by the governing authority of the exporting country. 

ii. Certificate of Free Sale

The Certificate of Free Sale or Free Sale Certificate is an official export document issued to traders by the relevant authority regulating the product for export purposes. For food products to be exported from Singapore, it is issued by SFA, broadly certifying that the product is classified as a food product and complies with local regulations without indicating the specific safety standards or other required criteria for the importing country. 

Figure 2: Extract from SFA Website, Commercial Food Exports [1]

Figure 3: Example of Free Sale Certificate issued by SFA

iii. Food and Food Ingredients Importation requirements into Singapore

The importation of food products and/or ingredients into Singapore is regulated by both the Singapore Customs and the SFA.  The general importation documents include a customs permit (i.e., import permit), bill of lading or airway bill, commercial invoice, and packing list [2], prior to the necessary business registration with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) and account activation with Singapore customs.

Additionally, the trader or importer has to apply for a licence or registration with SFA depending on the type of food products to be imported [3].

Figure 4: Screenshot on licenses/registration required for importation of various food products from the SFA website, where food ingredients would fall under “registration to import processed food products and food appliances” [3]

Food ingredients such as non-GMO yeast intended for further processing into finished food products in the importing country are still required to register with SFA, under the “Registration to Import Processed Food Products and Food Appliances”.

There is additional import documentation required for specific food products, such as infant formulas, infant cereals, dairy products, mooncakes, beef extract, and any food products containing beef extract, packaged mineral, drinking water, etc. [4]. These documents include health certificates, manufacturing factory licenses, microbiological and chemical test reports, process flow charts, etc. 

For non-GMO yeast or yeast in general, a health certificate or certificate of free sale is not required. Although submission of laboratory test reports to SFA is currently not required for yeast and other imported food items not specified in the list, such products may be subjected to inspection and sampling by SFA. In general, SFA tests food products for the following test parameters.  

The specific parameters to be tested for each food product will be dependent on the risk and hazards associated with the food. This list is not exhaustive and SFA may test for additional parameters that are not stated in the list below.  

Figure 5: Excerpt from Import Requirements of Specific Food Products – examples of chemical tests and microbiological tests that may be requested during importation, subject to customs request [4]

2. If yes, whose responsibility is it to provide the health certificate/certificate of free sale?

Although the specified yeast product is not required by law to provide the health certificate or certificate of free sale, it is dependent on the importer’s internal policy on whether they require such documents from their trading partner (i.e., exporting party). When mandated by law, it is the responsibility of the exporter (or consignor) involved in the trading transaction with the importer to provide the health certificate or certificate of free sale. For instances where the consignor is not the manufacturer but a third-party trader, the manufacturer shall assist the consignor who will be applying for these certificates, by furnishing the required factory and product supporting documents, while the consignor will provide the required transportation details to their local governing authority. This is also dependent on the exporting country’s procedure for such applications which differs by country. 

For Singapore exports, for health certificate applications where exporters are required to appoint a Qualified Person (QP) who must be a full-time employed staff of the company and must have passed FHO Training & SFA’s training on export processes (e.g., sampling and chain custody of samples and checking of import requirements) detailed in Section 1i above [1], exporters are usually the manufacturers.

3. If yes, do these certificates need to be validated/issued by the authority of the country of origin of the products or can the manufacturer write the certificate himself?

As detailed in Section 1, both the health certificate and certificate of free sale are official documents and must be issued by the authority of the exporting country. Depending on the exporting country’s process and government-to-government policy, they are generally issued by the regulatory authority of the product categories in question. 

Certificates written by the manufacturer or trader themselves are not recognized by SFA (for food products), given that the broad purpose is to certify that the imported food product or food ingredient is safe and meets the safety standards of the exporting country.                  

4. References

1. SFA Website, Commercial Food Exports

https://www.sfa.gov.sg/food-import-export/commercial-food-exports 

2. Singapore Customs website, Documents for Clearance of Goods

https://www.customs.gov.sg/businesses/importing-goods/import-procedures/documents-for-clearance-of-goods/ 

3. Singapore Food Agency website, Licensing and registration of traders

https://www.sfa.gov.sg/food-import-export/licensing-registration-of-traders

4. Import Requirements of Specific Food Products (Updated 4 December 2023) 

https://www.sfa.gov.sg/docs/default-source/default-document-library/import-requirements-of-specific-food-products.pdf