Spotlight in Parliament on food poisoning
Food poisoning was a hot topic in Parliament yesterday, after five major incidents last year that affected more than 600 people, with one death.
Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources, said yesterday that the National Environment Agency (NEA) will look at improving the speed at which the public is notified of food operators' licence suspensions.
This includes installing quick links on its website, and having push notifications to its myENV app to efficiently inform consumers of such suspensions.
She was responding to questions from four MPs about the spate of mass food poisonings last year.
NEA officers are now equipped with tablets to allow quicker access to food operators' information and food safety history on the go, she said.
This will also help them plan their inspections efficiently and receive alerts of food-related incidents to allow for a quicker response.
Last November, a spate of food poisoning incidents involving catered food saw more than 400 people fall ill.
In one incident, 82 people fell sick, with 47 hospitalised, after eating catered food from Spize restaurant in River Valley.
One of the victims, Sats officer Fadli Salleh, 38, later died.
The restaurant's operating licence has been terminated, and the NEA will be pressing charges against the operator.
Dr Khor said if found guilty, operators who have committed the offence of serving food unfit for human consumption for the first time can face a fine of up to $10,000 and repeat offenders can face a $20,000 fine and up to three months imprisonment, or both.
NEA will also fine FoodTalks Caterer and Manufacturer after 131 people, made up of kindergarten children and teachers, fell ill after eating its food in another incident last November.
Dr Khor also said yesterday that the operating licences of TungLok Catering and the Grand Ballroom and affected kitchen of Mandarin Orchard hotel, will remain suspended.
Last November, 190 people fell ill after eating food prepared by TungLok Catering and the following month, 175 people suffered food poisoning after attending four separate events at the Grand Ballroom of the hotel.
The TungLok kitchen and the kitchen serving the particular ballroom of the hotel will have to comply with the requirements imposed by the NEA, including rectifying the lapses and sanitising the affected areas, for the suspension to be lifted.
Dr Khor added that NEA and Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore have been working to strengthen the overall regulatory framework for food operators in the lead-up to the formation of the Singapore Food Agency in April, and the penalty regimes for operators in significant food poisoning instances will be tightened.
Fines will be increased and those who commit serious hygiene offences will be prosecuted.
The NEA has also stepped up its checks, carrying out 77,000 inspections on food retail establishments last year.
There have been more than 3,000 checks on caterers.
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