SINGAPORE - A new licensing regime for food establishments will be introduced from 2023 to provide better assurance of food safety to consumers, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) said on Monday (Oct 25). Other than their track record, such as not having major food safety lapses over a period of time, the multi-year framework will take into account whether eateries appoint food hygiene officers, among other things. An estimated 23,000 food establishments will come under the Safety Assurance for Food Establishments (Safe) framework from Jan 1, 2023, across retail and non-retail food establishments, said SFA in its statement. Food establishments include caterers, restaurants, bakeries and food manufacturers. They are currently graded either A, B, C or D, based on an annual assessment of their premises' food safety performance. With the new framework, the old grading system will be replaced with bronze, silver and gold awards. These awards will correspond to a three, five, or 10-year licence duration. The higher the award tier, the longer the duration. SFA's deputy chief executive Tan Lee Kim said the new framework takes into account ongoing performance, compared with an annual grading a...