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Director of Duke-NUS Medical School’s Centre for Regulatory Excellence appointed to new Singapore Food Agency Board

Dr John Lim, Executive Director of Duke-NUS’ Centre of Regulatory Excellence, has been appointed to the Board of Directors of the Singapore Food Agency (SFA), the new regulatory agency to oversee food-related issues set to be formed on 1 Apr 2019, under the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR). The appointment will see Dr Lim, who is also Chairman of the Singapore Clinical Research Institute and Senior Advisor to the Ministry of Health, join 14 other high profile appointees to the SFA Board.

The SFA will consolidate the regulatory oversight of food safety and security, which are currently divided among three public agencies – the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA), the National Environment Agency (NEA) and the Health Sciences Authority (HSA). The AVA will cease to exist from next April and its animal-related functions, such as animal welfare, will be transferred to the National Parks Board (NParks) under the Ministry of National Development (MND).

The SFA aims to deal with global food supply challenges caused by climate change but will also look to seize global opportunities in the food industry, according to Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli.

Further details of the announcement by MEWR can be found on the MEWR website.