Buying 15kg of bak kwa from Malaysia? You can't bring them into Singapore yet: SFA

With the Lunar New Year just around the corner, some may choose to do their festive shopping in neighbouring countries. 

But before you lug back those boxes of bak kwa from Malaysia to Singapore, take note — the new rules have yet to kick in.

On Jan 8, Parliament passed the Food Safety and Security Bill, which provides more flexibility for food brought into Singapore for private consumption. 

Singaporeans will be allowed to bring in a total of 15kg of various categories of food from overseas, up from the current limit of 5kg of meat and seafood.

However, some people thought that the new rules was already in place and had tried to bring in bak kwa from Malaysia. 

They were then ordered to discard the items when crossing the border.

In a Facebook post on Jan 15, one netizen said that he had tried to bring in RM500 (S$150) worth of bak kwa but was asked to dump them into a bin at Singapore customs.  

Another netizen said that they were made to throw away RM258 worth of bak kwa. 

'More details will be shared when ready': SFA

While Malaysia is not currently listed as an approved source of meat products to be brought into Singapore, changes appear to be on the horizon.

In its introduction of the Bill in November, the Ministry for Sustainability and Environment said that limitations on source countries for meat will no longer apply under FSSB.

However, the ministry recognised that some food types such as game meat or animal blood products could pose greater risk to consumers and public health, said Minister Grace Fu during the second reading of the Bill on Jan 8.

"Such food are of higher regulatory concern and are not allowed to be brought in under the private consumption limit."

In an update to its list of allowed food, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) said: "As the FSSB is not yet in force, the current rules and limits on quantity of food brought in for private consumption will continue to apply.

"More details will be shared when ready."

Provisions under the new Bill are expected to be implemented in stages from the second half of 2025 to 2028. 

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melissateo@asiaone.com