Shiok Kitchen Catering fined for lapses in food safety

A food catering company involved in a gastroenteritis outbreak in 2023 which affected 395 individuals has been fined.

On April 9, Shiok Kitchen Catering was fined $8,000 for flouting food regulations including preparation of food unsafe for human consumption, and failure to ensure a clean facility.

Another charge for failure to ensure a properly maintained and clean facility was taken into consideration during sentencing.

Court documents show that between November and December 2023, the Ministry of Health and Singapore Food Agency (SFA) received reports of a mass gastroenteritis incident involving 395 individuals who had eaten food catered by the firm.

Further investigations conducted at Shiok Kitchen's facility, which is at 1 Senoko Avenue off Admiralty Road, found the firm had flouted multiple food safety regulations.

On Dec 14, 2023, investigations revealed that a food poisoning-causing bacterium, Bacillus cereus, was present in a spinach dish doused with garlic cream sauce in the central kitchen.

Multiple areas of the kitchen were also found to be in poor condition. A chiller machine in the facility's seafood room and an ice-making machine in the beverage room were observed to be dirty with brown stains.

Cockroaches were seen in an unused undercounter chiller in the hot kitchen, while cockroach droppings and eggs were found on a kitchen scale of the preparation table.

At the time, SFA suspended Shiok Kitchen's operations from Dec 14, 2023 to Jan 5, 2024, to let the caterer improve food safety practices and cleanliness, as well as rectify all lapses found.

"While SFA continues to be vigilant and works to ensure that the regulatory measures are in place and properly enforced, the industry and consumers should also play their part as food can be contaminated anywhere along the food chain," SFA said in a statement released on April 9.

Offenders can be fined up to $5,000 for each conviction after flouting regulations, and can be fined an additional $100 for each day after conviction if the problems persist.