SALE OF FOOD (AMENDMENT) BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

The Minister of State for National Development (Dr Vivian Balakrishnan): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

Introduction

Sir, the House has just passed the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (Amendment) Bill, which provides for the expansion of the food safety responsibilities of the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority. It also provides for the transfer of the Food Control Department of the Ministry of the Environment to the AVA. This Sale of Food (Amendment) Bill is consequential to this transfer of food safety responsibilities to the AVA.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I will now touch on the main features of the Bill.

The Bill transfers the administration of the Sale of Food Act to the AVA by virtue of clauses 3, 4 and 19. This transfer enables the AVA to regulate the safety of imported processed food. Currently, the Ministry of the Environment regulates all food establishments in Singapore. These include restaurants, supermarkets, hawkers, market stalls and caterers. Food establishments may also be non-retail in nature, such as those that manufacture, process, prepare and pack food for distribution. The Ministry of the Environment regulates all local food establishments under the existing Environmental Public Health Act.

In the new rationalisation of food safety, responsibility is between the AVA and the Ministry of the Environment. The AVA will take over from the Ministry of the Environment the regulation of those food establishments which are non-retail in nature. The Ministry of the Environment will continue to regulate the safety of food at the retail end, such as restaurants, supermarkets, hawkers, market stalls and caterers.

Sir, to allow the AVA to regulate these food establishments that are non-retail in nature, the AVA has to be provided with additional powers for the regulation of food establishments. The Bill incorporates various provisions of the current Environmental Public Health Act, as set out in clauses 2, 11, 12, 17 and 18, to enable the AVA to take an approach in the regulation of food establishments similar to that under the Environmental Public Health Act.

The penalties of the existing Act were determined in 1973. Under various clauses of the Bill, such as clauses 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13 and 15, read with section 37F introduced under clause 17, many offences committed under the Act will now carry a maximum penalty of $5,000 for the first offence, and $10,000 and/or a jail term of 3 months for subsequent offences. The proposed amendments reflect the seriousness of offences in relation to food safety and are commensurate with today's cost of living. The increases in penalties in the Bill take into consideration the quantum of fines that can currently be imposed under the Environmental Public Health Act.

The existing Sale of Food Act has no provision for the composition of offences. But ENV can currently compound offences relating to food establishments committed under the Environmental Public Health Act. The new section 37G of clause 17 provides the AVA with the power to compound offences committed under the Sale of Food Act for up to a maximum of $1,000. This provides consistency in enforcement power with the Environmental Public Health Act as well as for an effective and expeditious enforcement to be carried out on less serious offences.

Sir, these amendments are consequential to the transfer of food safety responsibilities from the Ministry of the Environment to the AVA. They are necessary to allow AVA to implement these new responsibilities.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.

The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Dr Vivian Balakrishnan].

Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.