If you are cooking or sampling on your stand, it is essential that you read and comply with the following regulations.  Failure to do so could result in the authorities, Singapore Food Agency (SFA), terminating your sampling/ cooking activities.  The SFA website contains a complete list of Food Safety Regulations and standards that must be followed – please click here.

Compulsory Requirements

1.  Declare what you are sampling and/or cooking on the compulsory Health & Safety Declaration Form. 

2.  Complete a HACCP (Food Risk Assessment) and send to the Organisers. 
Following submission of the H&S Declaration you will be sent further information depending on whether you are sampling low or high risk foods, which will include any additional information required e.g. a completed HACCP (detailing any temperature control measures), Hand Wash Facilities etc.

3.  Provide allergen information specific to the food/ drink being sampled.  This information must also be displayed/ available on the stand.

Alcohol - Sampling & Serving

You can only supply samples of alcohol that are your own product or that of a stand sharer.  In compliance with current legislation the supply of alcohol must be licensed under the Liquor Control (Supply and Consumption) Act 2015, therefore, sampling is also a licensable activity. If you wish to supply alcohol (except that provided by the official venue caterers) whether for on-site or off-site consumption, you must adhere to the sampling sizes and supply the details of a Personal Licence holder.

All stand holders serving and/ or sampling alcohol must notify the Organisers by completing the Alcohol Sampling Form. Please take note of the restrictions on the form.  For more information, please visit the Singapore Government Agency Website.

Exhibitors are not permitted to sell products from the stand.

Allergen Law

Singapore Food Agency (SFA) enforces regulations requiring all food service businesses to list ingredients on prepacked foods and must to be able to supply details of the product contents that contain any of the 14 recognised allergens within the ranges they serve.  Any stand offering food and/or drink is by law categorised as a food premises and must therefore comply with these regulations.  Accurate and verifiable food allergen information must be readily available (this can be in the form of original packaging) and signage should be in place on the stand to direct customers on how to obtain the information.

Click here for an Allergen Information Template

Click here for the Singapore Food Agency website on Allergen Guidance for Food Businesses

Cooking on Stands

If you are cooking on your stand, please declare this on the compulsory Health & Safety Declaration Form.

You will be required to comply with food safety and hygiene regulations on the Singapore Food Agency Website and in the NEA Food Handler’s Handbook. Details must be provided as part of your Exhibiting Company Risk Assessment and HACCP, including methods of storage, washing facilities, stand layout and type of appliance to be used in the cooking method, to be sent to the Organisers no later than Friday 29 April 2022.

All exhibitors cooking on stands must adhere to the following regulations:

• Only ovens, induction and deep-oil fryers are permitted forms of cooking in Suntec Singapore. No 'open-flame' cooking is allowed, including the use of Liquid Petroleum Gases (LPG) or cartridge types. The use of induction hot plate, solid fuel burners used to warm food that has been prepared/ cooked is permitted.
• Disposal of oil - exhibitors MUST NOT dispose of oil into the venue’s drainage system either on the stand or in any of the washrooms. Used oil should be transferred to a suitable container and disposed of in the bin provided in the communal wash up areas. The location of the wash up areas will be provided 4 weeks out from the show. The exhibitor will be liable for any damages caused by oils, fats or cooking related residues that are not disposed of properly.
• Non-slip flooring or mats should be provided within cooking areas and any spillage must be cleaned immediately.
• No food preparation equipment, including hot surfaces are to be left unattended when in use.
• Signage should be clearly positioned next to any cooking surface, to provide warning of hot surfaces.
• All sharp items are to be stored safely, and when in use, kept at a distance from visitors.
• Combustible materials are to be kept to a minimum and away from heat sources.
• Smoke-generating activities are to be controlled such that they do not activate the smoke detector. Exhibitors must install ventilation devices to equipment such as extractor hoods for activities that generate smoke.
• Exhibitors must ensure that all non-essential electrical items are turned off and disconnected from the power source during the night, this is inclusive (but not limited to) ovens, grills, water tanks and boilers.
• If there are significant cooking demonstrations taking place on the booth, the exhibitor must organiser for Two 4.5kg ABC type fire extinguishers to be visibly displayed at all times for emergency use. Please contact Sunyau on SFFA2022@sunyauexpo.com.sg for a quote to hire extinguishers.

COVID-19 & Food Safety

It is more important than ever to adopt good public and personal hygiene practices in order to reduce the risk of infections of COVID-19 due to contact with any contaminated surfaces or infected persons. These include:

• Seeking medical attention promptly and staying home if unwell.
• Washing hands with soap and water regularly, including before eating or handling food and after going to the toilet.
• Avoid touching your face with your hands.
• Covering mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing/sneezing and throwing the tissue away into a bin immediately.
• Not sharing food/ drinks with others. Samples must be offered to visitors from individual, single-serve disposable plates or small bowls, and not offered out of a sharing bowl where visitors could touch other samples for consumption.

As stipulated in the Safe Management Measures (SMM), where F&B is served to and consumed by participants, the requirements as of 29th April 2022 include:

• Safe distancing is encouraged but not required between individuals or groups in all settings.
• Buffets (staffed or self-served) and communal servings are allowed. Please note, the organisers still strongly encourage individual portions of samplings, to avoid visitors reaching into a sharing bowl/ touching other samples, as standard food hygiene practice.
• For avoidance of doubt, all participants consuming F&B at the MICE event must be fully vaccinated.
• No limitation on number of pax that is doing food tasting in your booth.
• Participants are no longer required to be stationary (i.e. seated or standing) during consumption of F&B (visitors unmask only when eating/ drinking and mask up at other times)

The guidelines for environmental cleaning and disinfection are available on NEA’s website.

Please see further information below under Food Hygiene Requirements and Sampling Requirements & Conditions.

First Aid Equipment

Each stand or kitchen where open food is handled, prepared or dispensed must hold a suitable and sufficient First Aid Kit including blue plasters.

Food Hygiene Requirements

All stand staff must observe and carry out the following Food Hygiene Regulations stipulated by Singapore Food Agency (SFA). The minimum requirements/ standards when offering your products as samples to visitors are:

• Food handlers are to practise a high standard of food and personal hygiene e.g. wash hands thoroughly and regularly with soap and water before handling food and throughout, and wear clean and tidy clothes.
• Food handlers are not to handle cooked or ready-to-eat food with bare hands. Where it is not practical to use utensils such as tongs to handle cooked food, clean disposable gloves must be worn.
• Anti-bacterial hand wipes or gel and spray for your work surfaces are a must. Maintain frequent washing and sanitising of all food contact surfaces and touchpoints including counter tops, utensils, and condiment containers.
• Food handlers are to practise proper food and environmental hygiene, including:
  • Store and handle raw and cooked/ ready-to-eat food separately, in order to minimize cross-contamination
  • Keeping food at safe temperatures (keeping hot food above 60°C and cold food below 5°C)
  • Cooking food thoroughly
  • Keeping the food storage and preparation areas clean and free of pests.
  • Wash fruits and vegetables with clean water.
  • Cover food properly to prevent contamination.
• Food handlers are not to be sick (e.g., diarrhoea, vomiting, stomach cramps, fever, flu- like symptoms) before the start of food preparation. Do not engage in any food handling/preparation if unwell.
• Adequate refuse, rigid bins and litter receptacles lined with plastic bags are to be placed at strategic locations for disposal of waste and litter.
• Cooking oil may be disposed of in the receptacle at either of the communal wash up areas. 
• Waste generated at the event has to be properly collected and sent for disposal. Please contact our Official Cleaning Supplier Multitask Development Pte Ltd on sales@mdpl.com.sg for a quote.

Food Legislation

All food businesses must comply with current Singapore Food Safety Legislation, details of which can be found here.

All exhibitors carrying out food operations should be registered as food businesses with their local authority. If you manufacture meat, fish or dairy products you may, in addition to registration, need to go through a formal approval process. Advice should be sought from your environmental health department if you think you may require approval.

Food operations include as least one of the following activities:

• Cooking food
• Storing or handling food
• Preparing food
• Distributing food
• Supplying food for sampling
   

Food Risk Assessments - HACCP

Any company bringing food into the venue and offering it as samples to visitors must undertake a Food Risk Assessment (HACCP - Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Point) and send this document to Ms Kayleigh Williams. Please follow the link for a HACCP Example Low Risk / HACCP Example High Risk or for a HACCP template only to complete your own.

A HACCP should be completed with your overall Risk Assessment and the main steps include:

A.  Identifying hazards
B.  Defining control measures
C.  Establishing if they are critical
D.  Setting targets and limits for critical control points
E.  Monitoring if necessary

It is the responsibility of each exhibitor to assess the extent of their operation and ensure that adequate and suitable washing facilities and refrigerated/frozen facilities are provided. Click here for more information on Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS) on the SFA website.

Food Safety

Stands will not be permitted to process or serve food if they are in poor hygienic condition or pose an imminent risk of contamination to food or an imminent risk to health. All exhibitors sampling food/ drink must adhere to the food safety standards on the Singapore Food Agency Website and in the NEA Food Handler’s Handbook.

Stands/ kitchens/ food preparation and dispensing areas must be in good order to ensure they can easily be cleaned and maintained in a hygienic state of repair. All surfaces likely to be used during the event should be non-porous and easily cleanable.

Anyone processing food must be able to identify the risks associated with their operation.

All staff engaged in food handling must be properly trained, appropriate to their duties, and supervised to ensure they work hygienically. Evidence of this training may be required for inspection, so all relevant documentation should be made available onsite.

Key controls expected by venues where exhibitors are serving food within the confines of the venue must cover the following:

• Delivery
• Storage
• Preparation and display
• Hot or cold food holding

These controls should be detailed in your HACCP (Hazard Analysis, Control & Monitoring for the Preparation, Cooking, Storage and Serving of Foods).

Importation of Food Products into Singapore

When you import food into Singapore for commercial purposes, you need to familiarise yourself with regulations that apply to specific products and with more general rules about things such as labelling and additives.

We suggest that you consult with the National Environmental Agency or the Singapore Food Agency for more information, or alternatively contact our official Freight Forwarding Agent, Ms Jea-Hee Won on jea-hee.won@dbschenker.com who will be able to advise.

Personal Hygiene

 All food handlers working with open food must:

• Keep their hands clean and cover any cuts with a blue, waterproof dressing.
• Wear clean and washable over-clothing.
• Keep personal clothing and bags out of areas where open food is handled unless it is stored in a cupboard.
• Change gloves (where used) regularly and wash hands in between
• Not handle open food when suffering, and within 48 hours of suffering from gastro-enteritis, dysentery, any infection, boils or septic cuts etc likely to cause food poisoning. They should contact their doctor immediately.

Penalties

Singapore Food Agency (SFA) may make inspections to stands. Failure to comply with the requirements of the legislation may result in formal action being taken and likely stopping of sampling activity or even closure of the stand. A person found guilty of an offence is liable to a fine or imprisonment or both.

We suggest that you consult with the National Environment Agency if you have any queries or concerns. 


Sampling Requirements & Conditions

All samples must be given Free of Charge and must adhere to the following sizes: 

• Unwrapped Food - “bite size” portions 
• Individually wrapped items – off-site consumption only 
• Soft and Hot Drinks   - 50ml (1.75 fl oz) 
• Beers/ Ciders or similar   - 25ml (1.75 fl oz) 
• Wine/ Fortified wines/ Champagne/ Alcopops and similar  - 25ml (0.9 fl oz) 
• Spirits and similar  - 25ml (0.9 fl oz)                                                                        

1)   Any proposed sampling activity must be declared on the Health & Safety Declaration Form.   

2)   You must complete a HACCP - Food Safety Risk Assessment. See section above for more information.

3)   You must make adequate provision for food safety on the stand. Singapore Food Agency may visit the show and will have the authority to stop sampling activity if necessary. Sampling must be carried out in such a way that visitors do not touch food that other people will eat, in order to minimise the risk of cross-contamination. 

The guidelines to follow are:  

• Samples should be placed where the exhibitors can see it to supervise visitors, and ensure they are clearly segregated from other stock. 

• Samples should be offered to visitors from individual, disposable plates or small bowls.

• Avoid using food items e.g. breadsticks to sample food from dishes/bowls such as a sauce or chutney due to the possibility that it could break off into the sample and visitors could put fingers into the food to retrieve broken pieces.

• Large bowls or mounds of food for sampling must not be used, as this increases the risk of visitors touching food other visitors will eat.

• Customers should not be allowed to ‘double dip’ sampling sticks/ spoons/ food items. 

• Bowls, dishes or plates should not be topped up unless they have been properly cleaned before being replenished. 

• Provide a bin or rubbish bowl for visitors to place any discarded items, such as stones, from food or sampling sticks/utensils. 

• Accurate and verifiable food allergen information must be readily available (this can be in the form of original packaging) 

If, in the opinion of Suntec’s Catering Department, an exhibitor contravenes sampling sizes or provides food and drink to visitors as hospitality that has not been purchased from them, they reserve the right to charge the exhibitor a corkage or concession fee.  Please contact the Caterers for more information.   
 

Sink Guidelines

It is the responsibility of each exhibitor to assess the extent of their operation and ensure that adequate and suitable washing facilities and refrigerated/ frozen facilities are provided. 

1.   If an exhibitor is preparing, cooking and serving open food on their stand, we strongly recommend that they have:

• 1 x sink (or dishwasher) to wash utensils and crockery 
• 1 x separate sink to wash hands and prepare food – the sink must be sanitised between hand wash use and food preparation
  Please note, the Organisers have arranged for two communal wash up areas for utensil/ equipment washing only, exhibitors are encouraged to make use of this facility.

2.   If there is no cooking involved, then no sink or hand wash facilities are neccessary for the stand. Stand staff must use disposable gloves when handling food, regularly clean/ sanitise surfaces and can use the communal wash up areas to wash utensils. Although disposal utensils are encouraged where possible.


Washing Facilities

There will be two communal wash up areas within the show, these are located at the back of the hall by Fine Food Live and at the front of the hall behind the Tap Room. These wash up areas are specifically for utensil washing, hand wash facilities should be made available on your stand if advised above.  Once you have completed and returned your compulsory Health and Safety Declaration detailing the products you will be sampling, you will be advised further.

Please note – hand wash facilities can be provided in a number of different ways and do not necessarily involve the space and cost requirements of a plumbed-in facility.  For more advice, please contact kayleigh.williams@montgomerygroup.com.