Genetically Modified Microorganisms in Food Processing

Singapore's guidance on genetically modified microorganisms (GMMs) applies to companies intending to use GMMs in food-processing establishments to produce food substances. It addresses possible exposure to GMMs affecting human, plant or animal health and consolidates information for the Singapore Food Agency (SFA), National Parks Board (NParks), Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and Genetic Modification Advisory Committee (GMAC) before a food-processing-establishment licence application (joint-agency Guidance on Safe Use of GMMs, dated 20 July 2023, accessed 30 August 2026).

Food-substance assessment and establishment licensing

Food substances made using GMMs are treated in the guidance as novel foods and must undergo SFA's pre-market food-safety evaluation before they are used in food. Companies are advised to seek SFA approval or clarification for the substance before applying for a food-processing-establishment licence for its production (joint-agency Guidance on Safe Use of GMMs, dated 20 July 2023, accessed 30 August 2026). The GMM workflow therefore complements, rather than replaces, the product-specific novel-food assessment and the establishment's ordinary SFA licensing requirements.

SFA's licensing page states that all food-processing establishments must be licensed before manufacturing, processing, preparing or packaging food for distribution to wholesalers and retailers. GMM users must address the additional biosafety and regulatory issues in the joint guidance; a food-processing licence alone is not evidence that a GMM-derived food substance has received pre-market approval (SFA, Food Manufacturing and Storage Licensing, accessed 30 August 2026).

Scope of the GMM guidance

The guidance supports companies using GMMs in commercial food-processing establishments and focuses on exposure to the microorganism and the resulting food substance. The source does not cover research activities where neither the GMM nor the fermentation product is released outside a research facility. Researchers should instead follow GMAC's biosafety guidance as implemented through the relevant institutional biosafety committee (joint-agency Guidance on Safe Use of GMMs, dated 20 July 2023, accessed 30 August 2026).

How to interpret the workflow

The guidance uses an assessment form and process flow to collect information for the relevant agencies. A developer should identify the GMM, production and containment controls, potential exposure and the food substance made from the process, then obtain product-specific regulatory advice before commercial production. This is different from the GM-crop approval pathway: GMM guidance concerns microorganisms used in a food-processing process, while GM-crop approval concerns a GM crop or food derived from it.