Company and director admit to offences over expiry dates of 5,880kg of food

Far Ocean Sea Products and its chief executive Jordan Quek Ruiming each pleaded guilty to 30 charges. - ST

SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/Asia News Network): A food processing company and its director admitted on Friday (Oct 20) to not having the expiry dates or having the wrong ones on 5,880kg of fish and meat products.

The case is the most extensive offence investigated by the Singapore Food Agency (SFA).

Far Ocean Sea Products and its chief executive Jordan Quek Ruiming, 36, a director at the time of the offences, each pleaded guilty to 30 charges over violating the conditions of the firm’s licences and one charge for illegally using a room at its premises for processing food.

The firm admitted to one other charge for obstructing officers in their investigations by tampering with a sealed room.

Quek and his company will have 97 other charges each taken into consideration during their sentencing – 66 over violating the conditions of the firm’s licences and 31 for misleadingly labelling fish and meat products, including those which had expired, with extended expiry dates.

Described as a “significant market player” by the prosecution, Far Ocean supplies and sells fish and meat products to commercial clients – including hotels, supermarkets, food and beverage establishments, and airlines – as well as non-commercial clients in Singapore and overseas.

Quek had been a director of the firm since July 1, 2015, overseeing production and logistics.

Said the prosecution: “To date, this is the most extensive offending behaviour in relation to a matter investigated by SFA.

“Regulatory offences often appear relatively minor, but only in isolation. The true import of the offences here is best illustrated through the manner in which the accused persons are situated within the food fabric of Singapore society.”

According to Deputy Public Prosecutors Niranjan Ranjakunalan, Kayal Pillay and Gladys Lim, Far Ocean had two licences that allowed it to operate a processing establishment in Fishery Port Road for fish and meat products intended for consumption.

As part of the conditions, it had to ensure every pack of meat or fish product was clearly marked and labelled with its expiry date.

“The traceability of producer and the lot number are crucial in the event of food safety incidents, such as physical contamination or microbiological contamination, as they facilitate food recall and safeguard public health and safety,” the prosecution said.

On July 3, 2019, SFA officers inspected Far Ocean’s premises following a complaint made against the firm. They found a large number of products that were not marked and labelled with expiry dates.

Investigations revealed that Far Ocean did not keep a proper inventory of the meat and fish products. It also did not have a proper record of the invoices and production dates.

As a result, there was a large amount of expired meat and fish products at the premises, including those whose expiry had exceeded by more than three years. These items were stored together with those which had not reached their expiry dates.

Far Ocean also received several complaints from customers over product quality, the prosecution said, adding that the items were not marked and labelled with expiry dates because there was no proper system.

It was also revealed that in early 2019, one of Far Ocean’s employees took a video capturing his fellow workers using penknives to remove expiry date labels from cartons of tiger prawns.

On the second day of inspection on July 4, 2019, SFA officers requested to enter a room – approved to be used only as a dry store – that was locked.

A worker said the room was not used and that the keys were not in the premises.

The officers observed through a gap in the door that there were machines for meat slicing, and pieces of meat and white substances that looked like meat fats in a drainage area. That indicated that the room was used to process meat.

The officers sealed all three doors to the room, so they could inspect it after the keys were handed over to them.

They got the keys the next day and found that the room had been cleaned up, with the machines wrapped with plastic covers.

Investigations revealed that the staff entered the room through an opening in a false ceiling.

The prosecution said the firm had a long-standing practice of getting staff to clean the room whenever there was an inspection.

According to court documents, the prosecution is seeking a fine of between $221,000 and $225,000 for Far Ocean, citing the large quantity and variety of products, the high potential for harm due to non-compliance with the licensing conditions, and the egregious behaviour in tampering with a sealed room to obstruct investigations.

The prosecution added that Quek’s culpability is commensurate with that of Far Ocean’s and that it is seeking a fine of between $213,000 and $215,000 for him.

It added: “The nature of the offending conduct places the need to protect the unsuspecting public at the fore of this matter.

“SFA’s mission is to ensure and secure a supply of safe food for all. To achieve this, we must take a firm stance against offenders who brazenly place or increase the possibility of placing unsuspecting consumers at risk.

“The average consumer has no real means of verifying the wholesomeness of food provided by a company. They rely on public agencies such as the SFA and the integrity of these food businesses to uphold food hygiene standards.”

Quek and the firm are expected to be sentenced on Nov 20.