Food and retail
Food and retail
General
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Please refer to the Safe Management Measures and guidelines stipulated in the sector-specific advisories on the GoBusiness portal.
Food Services
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The legal requirement for mask wearing in indoor settings has been removed, with the exception of indoor healthcare and residential care1 as well as public transport2 settings.
F&B establishments in these settings should ensure that customers and working personnel, including food delivery personnel, wear their masks when not eating or drinking.
Mask wearing in other settings is optional. However, we encourage individuals to exercise precaution (for example, wear their masks in crowded areas).
Mask wearing required as part of sectoral regulations, such as the Singapore Food Agency’s (SFA) requirement for food handlers, will continue to apply.
All personnel engaged in the sale and preparation of food and drinks at all F&B establishments are required to wear a mask or spit guard3. This applies to those involved in the following:
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Processing, preparation of ingredients and/or cooking of food.
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Packing of cooked and/or Ready-to-Eat food/ Handling unsealed finished products (including wet market food stalls)
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Dishing of cooked and/or Ready-to-Eat food to consumers
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Preparation of drinks
Personnel are not required to put on masks/ spit guards if they are only involved in the following:
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Bringing plated food to consumers
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Delivery of packed/ bento food to consumers (e.g. food delivery personnel)
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Cleaning activities (e.g. collection of used crockery/ utensils, washing or cleaning of dining tables)
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Collection of payment from customers
Please refer to the SFA’s advisory for more details.
1 Indoor premises of hospitals and polyclinics (inclusive of retail, F&B outlets, common areas and other facilities within the hospital/polyclinic building); private primary care and dental facilities, specialist clinics, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) clinics, renal dialysis centres, clinical and radiological laboratories, day hospices; residential care homes; COVID-19 care facilities, testing centres and vaccination centres; as well as on emergency ambulances and medical transport vehicles. 2 This covers the MRT/LRT and public buses, and indoor public transport facilities (e.g. boarding areas within bus interchanges and MRT platforms). Mask-wearing on private transport modes, as well as school buses, private bus services and taxis, will be optional. 3 Food handlers working in mask-on zones must wear masks and are not allowed to wear a spit guard.
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Vaccination-Differentiated SMMs (VDS) are no longer required, including for dining in at F&B establishments such as hawker centres and coffee shops. VDS is also no longer required for events held in F&B establishments with > 500 participants at any one time.
F&B establishments do not have to conduct VDS checks for their customers or inform customers that VDS is required for dining in (e.g. by putting up notices on their premises).
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Yes, self-service buffet lines are allowed to resume at F&B establishments and events such as weddings and funerals and other work-related or social events.
To safeguard public health, F&B establishments and caterers that provide self-service buffet lines within their establishments or event premises will be required to provide an adequate number of hand sanitisers (containing at least 60% alcohol) or disposable gloves in the vicinity of a self-service buffet, with all starting points covered4. Please refer to Singapore Food Agency’s (SFA) circular for details.
F&B establishments and caterers that provide self-service buffet lines are to note that:
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They must ensure the food is covered. Where the food is not served in chaffing dishes with attached covers, F&B establishments and caterers should install plastic/ glass barriers to protect food from exposure to environmental contamination or respiratory droplets from customers queueing at buffet lines.
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They must also ensure that all personnel engaged in the sale and preparation of food and drinks wear masks or spit guards at all times.
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Communal amenities for self-service (e.g. drink dispensers, cutlery and condiment stations) can be used.
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They should inform and remind customers to use the hand sanitisers or disposable gloves when handling food at the self-service buffet counters.
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They should frequently clean serving cutlery or replace them with cleaned ones.
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F&B establishments should also continue to maintain high standards of food safety and comply with the existing food safety practices.
4 F&B establishments and caterers are required to provide at least two bottles of hand sanitisers (containing at least 60% alcohol) or two packs of disposable gloves in the vicinity of a self-service buffet, with all starting points covered, regardless of where the self-service buffet is held.
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F&B establishments may serve as venues for marriage5, MICE6, work-related7 and/or social events, subject to prevailing SMM requirements for these events.
VDS is no longer required for all events with > 500 participants at any one time. F&B served or consumed at events do not need to be served in individual portions.
5 Refer to the requirements at the GoBusiness portal for the SMMs on Marriage Solemnisations and Wedding Receptions.
6 Please refer to STB’s Advisory on COVID-19 for Travellers and Tourism Businesses.
7 Please refer to MOM’s Requirements for Safe Management Measures at the Workplace. -
Yes. Pop up kiosks or food trucks are permitted at public and common areas such as mall atriums, public transport nodes, HDB estates and common corridors.
On-site F&B preparation and food tasting are allowed, subject to relevant regulatory approvals and licence requirements for such F&B operations. In settings where mask wearing is required8, participants should put on their masks as soon as they have finished eating or drinking
8 Mask wearing continues to be required in indoor healthcare and residential care as well as public transport settings where essential services are carried out in enclosed and crowded areas frequently used by vulnerable persons. Refer to the Ministry of Health’s (MOH) media release for more details.
Workplace Vaccination Measures
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From 26 April 2022, unvaccinated workers can return to the workplace. However, employers may implement vaccination-differentiated requirements for their workers based on workplace health and safety, and operational needs of their respective companies or sectors.
Refer to MOH’s updated advisory on COVID-19 vaccination at the workplace for more details.
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Employers may ask employees for their vaccination status for business purposes e.g. business continuity planning. While employers may adopt differentiated workplace measures for vaccinated and unvaccinated employees, they should not terminate or threaten to terminate the service of unvaccinated employees on the basis of their vaccination status alone.
Retail
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Retail establishments and lifestyle-related services are to comply to the measures stipulated in the Updated Advisory for Safe Management Measures at Retail Establishments and Lifestyle-Related Services.
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Individuals in TCM clinics are required to continue wearing masks at all times.
Patients of licensed Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioners are allowed to remove their masks during their consultation/treatment if required, but are required to put their masks back on as soon as their consultation/treatment is completed.
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Work-related events can be held within the workplace premises or third-party venues9.
Activities and events can be held at public and common areas such as mall atriums, public transport nodes, HDB estates and common corridors.
Live performances, including busking, are allowed to resume at events.
In settings where mask wearing is required, participants should put on their masks as soon as they have finished eating or drinking.
On-site F&B preparation and food tasting will be allowed, subject to relevant regulatory approvals and licence requirements for such F&B operations.
9 Work-related events held in F&B establishments must comply with the SMM requirements for F&B establishments.
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Lion dance is considered as a form of live performance. As live performance restrictions have been lifted, lion dance is allowed in malls / atrium spaces / common areas / retail stores.
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Event organisers / retail establishments / mall management do not need to obtain approval to organise events in malls / atrium spaces / common areas / retail stores so long as the event is compliant with the prevailing retail and F&B advisories.