Sale of Herbal Tea
Licensing Approach
To strengthen food hygiene standards and give consumers greater assurance when purchasing such products, existing and new Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM premises with ancillary preparation and sales food/drinks, e.g. herbal drinks and tea-leaf eggs will need to be licensed by SFA under Food shop (Sales of Herbal Tea) licence.
Submission of relevant approvals and supporting documents
Details of applicant (where applicable)
- Individual (Singaporean or Singapore PR) – Both sides of NRIC or:
- Company (Pte Ltd/ Ltd/ LLP)– Information Business Profile from Accounting & Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) or;
- Society – Certificate of Registration from Registrar of Societies
- Letter of authorisation(when submission of application is not done by intended licensee/director of company holding the licence)
Details of premises/operations
- Layout plan of premises (in scaled metric units)
- Planning permission from relevant land agency e.g. URA and HDB
- Tenancy agreement
- Supplementary Information form to capture business name, type of food sold, business operating hours, etc.
Food handlers
- Attend and pass WSQ Follow Food & Beverage Safety and Hygiene Policies and Procedures (Food Handler)
Cleaning and maintenance
- Cleaning program
- Pest control contract covering the control of rodents, cockroaches and flies during the year-long licensing period. The inspection frequency of the food shop premises selling only herbal tea shall be at least once every 3 months to detect any sign of pest infestation.
Submission of online application and licence fee
The online application for a Foodshop licence can be submitted here.
The licence costs $195.00 and is valid for one year.
Frequently Asked Questions
My company currently operates a TCM shop with ancillary onsite food & drinks preparation. Are the areas used to display goods i.e. dried herbs required to be designed as stipulated in licensing conditions?
The licence will only cover the areas used to prepare and sell food/beverages. Hence, only such food preparation areas are required to be designed according to the design requirement stipulated in licensing conditions.
What are the food permitted for sales under Food shop (Sales of Herbal Tea) licence?
Other than herbal tea, food involving simple preparation steps (e.g. boiling) such as tea-leaf eggs are also permitted under the Food shop (Sales of Herbal Tea)licence.