2024 will be the year of public hygiene, announced Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu.

She provided an overview of the ministry's efforts in the coming year during the Committee of Supply debates on Mar. 4.

What comes to mind when thinking about public hygiene might be environmental cleanliness, such as being free of clutter and litter. However, Fu said:

"Public hygiene is more than that. It forms the very foundation of our wellbeing: Safe food, clean air and clean water."

Fu added that these facets of public hygiene come together to create a "thriving urban environment" and "protect our physical and mental health".

More surveillance and blitzes

The National Environment Agency (NEA) will be conducting more blitzes of larger scale and higher visibility at cleanliness hotspots this year.

Both uniformed and non-uniformed officers will be deployed during the blitzes, and standees will be placed to remind members of the public of the enforcement actions taken and that the area is under active surveillance.

NEA conducted 21 blitzes in 2023 and plans to conduct more than 100 blitzes in 2024.

CCTV deployments will also increase fourfold, from around 250 per year to 1,000 per year.

"These additional CCTV deployments will improve NEA’s remote surveillance capabilities, facilitate efficient deployment of resources by enabling investigations into public health offences, as well as deter would-be offenders," said NEA.

NEA is also exploring putting up photos of litterbugs in the areas where the act of littering was committed to seek the community’s help with identifying the offenders.

With regards to table littering, NEA also noted that the average return rate of trays and crockery at hawker centres has increased from 65 per cent in August 2021 to around 93 per cent currently.

NEA will continue to carry out targeted enforcement at hawker centres with lower return rates.

Taskforce for public toilets

To step up enforcement on toilet cleanliness and ensure that operators take responsibility and maintain toilets properly, the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE) will set up a Public Toilets Taskforce.

The taskforce will review ways to improve the cleanliness of "poorer performing" public toilets, in particular toilets at coffeeshops and hawker centres.

It will also develop measures to improve hygiene standards for all public toilets, including infrastructure, cleaning and public education, said NEA.

NEA and the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) will step up enforcement on toilet cleanliness.

The two agencies have been conducting enforcement blitzes on public toilet operators since mid-2023.

In 2023, NEA and SFA took close to 240 public toilet-related enforcement actions against premises owners and managers.

Change in food establishment safety grading

For the current food safety grading system, food establishments are graded from A to D based on an annual audit.

While it provides a "snapshot of food safety standards at the point of inspection", it does not adequately reflect whether these standards are consistently maintained, said Fu.

For better food safety assurance, the ministry will move towards a new framework known as Safety Assurance for Food Establishments (SAFE), an improved version of the one announced in 2021.

Under the SAFE framework, food establishments will be graded based on their food safety track record and prevailing food safety management systems.

The new framework will also "harmonise" the grading systems for both retail and non retail food establishments, which are currently regulated by two different frameworks.

"Establishments involved in significant food handling with large scale distribution, such as food manufacturers and caterers, will need to meet additional requirements to attain higher grades compared to those of smaller scale. Establishments with poor food safety performance and lower grades will face more frequent inspection. Poor performance during these inspections could lead to downgrading," said Fu.

MSE will also remove licensing requirements and fees for food establishments with minimal food safety risks, which will help "reduce regulatory compliance and increase operational efficiency".

By Jan. 1, 2025, all market stalls and vending machines selling non-food items or low-risk food items such as canned food and packet biscuits will not need to be licensed.

More than half of the existing market stall licensees and around two in five existing vending machine licensees will benefit from this new policy.

"The safety of food from these stalls and vending machines will continue to be regulated through standards imposed by SFA on the importers and suppliers of these food items," added Fu.

No more interior paints with formaldehyde

Fu highlighted the quality of indoor air as another important aspect of public hygiene.

MSE will be progressively introducing limits on formaldehyde in building products, starting with interior paints.

Formaldehyde is a chemical used in some paints as a preservative to inhibit bacterial and fungal growth.

"Prolonged exposure to formaldehyde can lead to negative health effects, such as respiratory discomfort and an increased risk of certain cancers," said Fu.

From Jan. 1, 2026, interior paints containing formaldehyde will not be allowed for sale in Singapore.

Paint manufacturers and importers will have to submit test reports to NEA showing that the measured total in-can formaldehyde content in each interior paint product is below 0.01 per cent weight by weight, according to NEA.

The test reports will have to be prepared by accredited laboratories.

For industrial paints and paints used for outdoor applications sold in Singapore, they will also have to be labelled to inform users that they contain formaldehyde and are meant for industrial or outdoor use only.

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Top images via MCI Singapore and Canva.