1.

HOW THE POINTS DEMERIT SYSTEM (PDS) APPLIES TO YOU

All licensees and their food handlers have a responsibility to members of the public. The

food they sell must be clean and wholesome. They must observe good personal and food hygiene at all times. The rules that they must comply with are spelt out under the Environmental Public Health Act (EPHA) (Chapter 95) and the Environmental Public Health (Food Hygiene) Regulations (FHR). Under Section 99 of the EPHA, a licence may be suspended or revoked if a licensee violates the Act or the Regulations made thereunder. To apply the basis for suspension or revocation fairly and consistently to all licensees, the Points Demerit System was introduced since September 1987. This system has encouraged licensees and foodhandlers to improve on food and personal hygiene practices and the upkeep of their premises. In November 2010, NEA introduced a Points Demerit System (PDS) to operators of food courts, coffee shops and canteens to encourage operators to place greater emphasis on the overall hygiene standards of the premises such as general housekeeping, toilet maintenance and refuse management. The PDS for main operators of food courts, coffee shops and canteens will be revised with effect from 1 March 2013. Under the revised PDS, the threshold for the suspension of licence is adjusted to 12 points instead of 24 points. This is to encourage operators to keep their premises, including toilets, clean and maintain good standards of hygiene and cleanliness .

2.

HOW THE POINTS DEMERIT SYSTEM WORKS

Under the Points Demerit System (PDS), demerit points are given for each public health

offence that is convicted in court or compounded. Minor offences will have fewer demerit points and serious offences more demerit points. Please refer to the next page for the categories of offences and the number of demerit points accorded. The demerit points are dated to the date the offence was committed and not the date of conviction or the date of payment of composition fines. If a licensee of a food court, coffee shop or canteen accumulates less than 12 demerit points within 12 months from the first offence date of the PDS, he will be given a warning letter. If the licensee accumulates 12 or more demerit points within a 12-month period, his licence will be suspended for one day. After the First Suspension, if the licensee again accumulates 12 or more demerit points within a 12-month period, the Second Suspension will be for 2 days. After the Second Suspension, if again the licensee accumulates 12 or more demerit points within 12-month period, the suspension will be for 3 days. After each suspension, the points accumulated before the suspension will be erased. If no demerit point is recorded against the licensee for a period of 12 months, all previous suspensions will be erased from his records. The licensee may appeal against the suspension in writing, within 14 days of the notification. Appeals received after 14 days of the notification would not be entertained. The suspension will take effect if we do not receive any appeal from the licensee after 14 days of the notification. All appeals received will be reviewed by the Appeal Panel, whose decision shall be final.

3.

DEMERIT POINTS RELEVANT TO FOOD COURTS, COFFEE SHOPS AND CANTEENS

Minor offences ($200 and 2 points per offence) 1. 2. Unauthorised extension to stall / food establishment. Failing to display licence in a conspicuous position.

Major offences ($300 and 4 points per offence) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Sweeping food scraps onto the floor. Setting up unauthorised stall at the premises. Using dirty rag or cloth to wipe tables / food / crockery / utensils / packing materials. Failing to keep toilet clean and sanitary appliances in good working order and repair. Failing to provide toilet paper, soap or liquid detergent, litter bin and clean towel or hand dryer in toilet(s). Failing to keep stall / kitchen / refreshment area clean. Keeping animals in stall / food establishment. Feeding birds and stray animals with food wastes.

Serious Offence ($400 and 6 points per offence) 1. 2. Failing to keep stall / food establishment free of rodents, cockroaches and other vermin. Discharging sullage water into open drain.

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POINTS DEMERIT SYSTEM

Licensee booked

Demerit points recorded

Less than 12 demerit points within 12 months

12 demerit points or more within 12 months

Warning letter issued to licensee

Notification of suspension

Within 14 days

Appeal considered by Appeal Panel

Yes

Licensee submits an appeal against the suspension?

No Appeal acceded to? Yes Licensee informed No 1 day suspension

Note: If the licensee were to accumulate another 12 or more demerit points within the 12 months after the 1st suspension, his implicated premises would be suspended for 2 days. If the licensee were to accumulate another 12 or more demerit points within the 12 months after the 2nd suspension, his implicated premises would be suspended for 3 days

5.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Which categories of premises are affected by this PDS revision? Only food courts, coffee shops and canteens will be affected by the PDS revision. Licensees of all other eating establishments are not affected and will still be subjected to the 12 demerit points under the existing PDS for food establishment.

2. What is new about the Point Demerit System? Effective from 1 March 2013, the threshold for the suspension of licence under the revised PDS is adjusted to 12 points instead of 24 points. This applies to operators of the coffee shops, food courts and canteens. An operator who has accumulated 12 demerit points or more within 12 months will be required to suspend his operation for up to 3 days to carry out thorough cleaning of his premises. Accumulated Demerit Points 12 points within 12 months 12 points within 12 months after 1st suspension 12 points within 12 months after 2nd suspension Suspension Period 1 Suspension 1 Day nd 2 Suspension 2 Days
st

3rd Suspension

3 Days

3. Is there any change to the composition fine amount of food hygiene offences? No. The composition fines and demerit points for the hygiene offences remained unchanged and are as follows: Severity of Offence Minor Major Offence Serious Offence Demerit Point 2 points 4 points 6 points Composition Fine $200 $300 $400

4. How would this PDS affect the individual stall operators? All stalls within the premises would have to be closed as the premises are not operating during the duration of suspension. The stall operator would be informed via letter whenever the main operator receives any demerit points. Individual stall operators will still be subjected to the 12 demerit points under the existing PDS. More details could be obtained from PDS A Guide for Food Establishments, November 2010 edition at this link: http://app2.nea.gov.sg/topics_food_hygiene.aspx

5. Do all food hygiene offences carry demerit points? What is the composition fine amount for these offences? Only food hygiene offences listed in page 3 of this document carry demerit points. Composition fines for offences which carry demerit points are mentioned in Question 3 above. Other food hygiene offences may be compounded for $200. 6. How would the operator be informed of the demerit points accumulated? The operator will be notified of the offence and the demerit points via letter upon payment of composition fines or conviction by the court. 7. What happens to the current accumulated demerit points? When the revised PDS come into force, all accumulated demerit points by the operators previously will be reset to zero. This, however, does not apply to individual licensees of food stalls or eating establishments.

8. Will the accumulated demerit points still be erased at the end of 12 months? No. All accumulated demerit points by the operators will only be erased if no demerit point is recorded against the operator for a period of 12 months. This 12-month period may not coincide with the calendar year.

9. Will the demerit points assigned to the individual food stall affect the operator of the food court, coffee shop and canteen? No.