Requirements to Import, Export and Transship Food

AVA ensures that food available in Singapore, both imported and locally manufactured, is safe for consumption. In addition, AVA also ensures that containers for food and food utensils are safe for use.

AVA classifies food under the following groups:

1. Meat - Meat products include whole carcasses or parts of any animal or bird. Meat may be imported in chilled, frozen, processed or canned form.

2. Fish - Fish products include any of the varieties of marine, brackish water or fresh water fishes, crustacea, aquatic mollusca, marine sponges, trepang and any other form of aquatic life and their young and eggs. Fish products here do not include the ornamental varieties. Fish products may be in chilled, frozen, processed or canned forms.

3.  Fresh fruits and vegetables - Fresh fruits and vegetables refer to raw and unprocessed fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables which have undergone some processing such as cutting, peeling, canning and freezing are regulated as processed food.

4. Fresh eggs - Fresh eggs refer to table eggs.

5. Processed eggs – Processed eggs refer to salted and preserved eggs, liquid and powdered egg and cooked eggs like hard-boiled eggs and omelette.

6. Processed food - Processed food products refer to all food products and supplements of food nature except meat products and fish products, fresh fruits and fresh vegetables.

7. Food appliances – Food appliances refer to food ware and food utensils. Food ware include, but are not limited to, bowls, cups, plates, pans, pots and water bottles, and food utensils include, but are not limited to, chopsticks, forks, and spoons.

The first step to begin importing food and food appliances is to register or apply for a license with AVA. You can find out more about registering or applying for a license at our Registration and Licensing page.

* To import fresh eggs, a Registration to Import Domestic Birds/Table Eggs/Sheep & Goats is required. You can register here. When applying for an egg importer licence, you must have an egg storage premises (or an egg store) which will be inspected and approved by AVA. The egg store must meet the following conditions:

a)     The egg store shall be kept clean, tidy, and well-ventilated at all times;

b)    There shall not be any animals or birds kept or found at the egg store;

c)     The egg store shall not be sited near any heavy industries, or chemical production/storage facilities, or any source of potential contamination;

d)    The egg store shall be sufficient and suitable for the storage, repacking, and any wholesale activities of eggs within the egg storage premises;

e)     Chilled eggs shall be stored at chilled conditions.

f)     Changes in address/usage of the egg store shall be notified to and approved by AVA;

g)    Once approved, the egg store is subject to audit inspection by AVA.

1. The legislation

You should ensure that the food you intend to import complies with the relevant legislation governed by AVA.

You may download a copy of the various legislations governed by AVA here.

2. The requirements

Meat

Import of meat and meat products is permitted only from approved sources. For the list of countries and establishments which are approved to export meat to Singapore, please click here. Every consignment must be accompanied by a health certificate issued by a veterinary authority of the exporting country, certifying that Singapore's animal health and food safety requirements have been complied with.

Every carton and basic packaging unit of meat and meat product imported must be labelled with the following particulars:

1. a description of the meat product;
2. the country from which the meat product originates;
3. the brand name of the meat product, if any;
4. the name and designation number of the processing establishment in which, and the date on which, the meat product was processed, if applicable;
5. in the case of a processed meat product, the name and designation number of the slaughter-house in which the animals used in the production of such meat product were slaughtered and the date of the slaughter;
6. the name and designation number of the establishment in which, and the date on which, the meat product was packed;
7. the batch number and, where the meat product is canned, the canning code.
8. the net weight of meat product as contained in each basic packaging and outer carton.

Fish

Fish and fish products may be imported from any country. Only items classified as high risk products are subject to the following restrictions:

Fresh fruits and vegetables

Fresh fruits and vegetables may be imported from any country. Under the Control of Plants (Import & Transshipment of Fresh Fruits & Vegetables) Rules, fresh fruits and vegetables imported shall not contain any prohibited pesticide, or levels of pesticide residue or toxic chemical residue exceeding the prescribed levels specified in the Ninth Schedule of the Food Regulations or recommended in the Joint FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission.

A phytosanitary certificate must accompany consignments from countries in the South American tropics to certify that the imported produce is free from South American Leaf Blight (SALB) or is sourced from or grown in an area free from SALB.

Containers (eg. cartons, baskets) of fresh fruits and vegetable must be labelled with the following at the time of import:

i.     Name and address of the producer of the products

ii.    Product description

iii.   Date of export/packing

A veterinary health certificate issued by the veterinary authority of the exporting country must accompany each consignment. The certificate must be dated within 7 days of import and comply with all conditions stated in AVA’s Veterinary Conditions stated in the links below.    

Processed eggs

Processed eggs may only be imported from approved establishments. The list of establishments approved to export processed eggs to Singapore is available here.

A health certificate issued by the veterinary authority of the exporting country must accompany each consignment to certify that Singapore’s animal health and food safety requirements have been complied with.

 
Processed food and food appliances

Processed food and food appliances may be imported from any country. However, you should ensure that the processed food products you intend to import are produced in an establishment under proper supervision of the competent food authority of the exporting country or which has a quality assurance program acceptable to AVA. You are required to maintain documentary proof that the products imported are produced in a regulated establishment. More information on obtaining of food from regulated sources can be found here.

You are advised to initiate some quality control checks on the products by sending the products you intend to import to accredited laboratories for analysis. A list of accredited laboratories can be found at the Singapore Accreditation Council-Singapore Laboratory Accreditation Scheme (SAC-SINGLAS) website.

Only certain food additives are permitted by the Food Regulations. Details of permitted food additives can be viewed at the Food additives page.

You can also check for herbal ingredients which may be used in food at the Herbal ingredients page.

For guidance on the general classification of food and health products, you may refer to the Classification Tree for Products in the Food-Health Product Interface.

Some processed food products are classified as high-risk and require additional documents such as health certificates and/or laboratory analysis reports need to be submitted prior to import, during your application for a cargo clearance permit. The list of these products and their requirements can be viewed at the Import Requirements for Specific Food Products page.

In addition, the Singapore Food Regulations require all prepacked food products for sale in Singapore to be labelled according to the requirements specified. You can refer here for more details on food labelling and advertisements.

You will need to apply for an import permit or Cargo Clearance Permit (CCP) through the TradeNet system before you can import. An import permit is required regardless of whether your food products and food containers and utensils are imported in by air, land, sea or parcel post. When applying for a CCP, you have to declare your licence/registration number and the correct HS codes and product codes of the products you are importing. You can obtain a copy of the various product code lists at our Product Codes for TradeNet page.

When submitting additional documentation (e.g. laboratory reports or health certificates) during your permit declaration, please state the Unique Reference No. of the permit declaration and your AVA Registration Number on the top right hand corner of each document.

 
4. The fees

The fees for the import of various types of food are provided in the table below. Payment will be deducted through your GIRO account. You may obtain a GIRO application form here.

To find out if AVA inspection is required, please check the AVA approval code (eg. A03, A04, A21) and the approval message stated in your cargo clearance permit.

All imported food products and food appliances are subject to inspection and samples may be taken for laboratory analysis. In some cases, consignments may be placed on “hold and test”, which means your consignment cannot be sold or distributed until the laboratory results have been released and the sample found compliant with the local food laws.

Every consignment of imported meat and meat products must be inspected and passed by AVA before sale, distribution or use is permitted.

Fresh fruit and vegetable consignments approved with A03 condition code have to be sent for compulsory inspection at the Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre (PPWC). You can contact AVA PPWC at the following numbers to arrange for an inspection. (Tel: 67734394, 97541040, 97541041, 90184166 and 90184177).

For inspection of meat, processed eggs, seafood, fresh fruits and vegetables and processed food, you are advised to make an online booking through AVA’s e-Services. You will receive an acknowledgement from the system once your booking has been approved.

During the inspection, you must present to the AVA inspector your cargo clearance permit, the product for inspection and any relevant documents such as invoices or health certificates.

Export/transhipment of food

Export/Transshipment permits

The export and transhipment of meat, fish and processed eggs is regulated by AVA. Exporters of these food types have to apply for an AVA licence before commencing export or transshipment. You can find out more about the licence application at our Registration and Licensing page. Exporters also have to apply for a permit for every consignment export or transhipped at Singapore. The export and transhipment permit may be applied through the TradeNet system.

The export of fresh eggs, fresh fruits and vegetables and export and transhipment of processed food, and food appliances are not regulated by AVA. Exporters, however, need to obtain an export permit from Singapore Customs.

Transhipment of fresh eggs is allowed with an AVA permit.  The eggs must come from bird flu free countries, and no other eggs from a different consignment should be carried in the same conveyance during transhipment through Singapore. 

Different countries may have different import requirements for various types of food products. Food exporters should always find out the exact type of export documents that are required by the importing countries and apply for these documents prior to the export of food products from Singapore.

You may refer to our Export Health Certification for Meat, Fish and Dairy Products (Intended for Human Consumption) and Export Certification for Processed Food pages for more information.

You may find out about the personal allowances for bringing food into Singapore as a traveller, the types of food allowed and other requirements at our Information for Travellers page.

Please note that the same personal allowances apply for food imported via parcel post.

You can contact us if you have further enquiries

Our address:

Quarantine & Inspection Department
Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority
5 Maxwell Road #02-03 Tower Block
MND Complex
Singapore 069110

Our operating hours:

Our email:

AVA_Import&Export_Foodstuff@ava.gov.sg

Our telephone enquiry line:

6325 7576