Causes of Mass Food Poisonings in October, November and December 2018

Mr Christopher de Souza asked the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) what are the causes of the mass food poisonings in October, November and December 2018 from food prepared at five different places; and (b) whether rules can be implemented requiring eateries or caterers to notify the public or potential customers as to the reasons for a suspension of their licence.

In October, November and December 2018, there were five reported food poisoning incidents involving Team Catering Pte Ltd, Tung Lok Catering, FoodTalks Caterer and Manufacturer, Spize Restaurant @ River Valley and Mandarin Orchard Hotel.

The joint investigations by the Ministry of Health (MOH), Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) and National Environment Agency (NEA) confirmed that there were no links among the incidents. In the case of Spize Restaurant, it was a Salmonellosis outbreak of unusual severity which suggests that the food was heavily contaminated. There was strong evidence of poor personal hygiene and food handling practices by food handlers leading to contamination of ready-to-eat food and the environment. The operator was also found to have seven unregistered food handlers and preparing food outside of the licensed premises. In the case of Team Catering Pte Ltd, a number of possible commonly-found pathogens were identified from the human stool samples, including Clostridium Perfringens and enteropathogenic Escherichia coli and several hygiene lapses and poor kitchen habits were identified, including improper storage of knives and poor housekeeping.

In the case of FoodTalks Caterer and Manufacturer and Tung Lok Millennium Pte Ltd, while the causative pathogen could not be identified for both outbreaks, several food hygiene lapses were found at their premises, for example, no proper segregation between raw and ready-to-eat food in the same chiller compartment, no provision of handwashing facilities, and cockroach infestation.

For the case at Mandarin Orchard Hotel, the outbreak was caused by environmental contamination of the Grand Ballroom with norovirus, a common virus that causes gastroenteritis, which was propagated by poor environmental and personal hygiene practices, such as improper cleaning of vomitus and banquet servers continuing to work while ill.

NEA has taken tough actions against the food operators who have violated the law. The operating licence of Spize Restaurant at River Valley Road was terminated and NEA will also press charges against the operator in Court. The operating licences of Tung Lok, as well as the ballroom and affected kitchen in Mandarin Hotel, will remain suspended until the operators have complied with the requirements imposed by NEA, which includes sanitising the affected areas, reviewing the processes and rectifying the lapses.

For the lapses found at FoodTalks, NEA will be issuing a summons to the operator. For selling food that is found unfit for human consumption, operators may face a penalty of up to $10,000 for the first offence and, in the case of repeat offenders, a fine of $20,000 or imprisonment of three months or both.

In addition to strengthening the overall regulatory framework for food operators, NEA will enhance NEA's website and the myENV app to make it easier for consumers to check the food hygiene records of the operators. We are also looking into measures to better notify the public about a food operator's licence suspension. Consumers are urged to engage only licensed caterers, and consume catered food within the stipulated "consume by" time period. Consumers who come across poor hygiene practices in food establishments should provide feedback to the authorities for further investigation.