Testing of the samples of the meals collected by Singapore Food Agency also found no foodborne pathogens, said Grace Fu. -ST
SINGAPORE: A total of 187 cases of gastroenteritis were reported, following the dissemination of Ready-to-Eat (RTE) meals as part of a Total Defence Day exercise.
This included 184 cases from schools, two from active ageing centres, and one from a public agency.
This is about 0.16 per cent of all participants, said Grace Fu, Minister of Sustainability and Environment in Parliament on Tuesday (March 4).
“All affected individuals have received the necessary medical attention and have since recovered,” Fu said, adding that no one was hospitalised.
She was responding to questions from several MPs on the recent food poisoning incident at the School of the Arts (Sota), when 20 students at the school had symptoms of gastroenteritis after eating RTE meals.
The meals were part of 150,000 RTE meals developed by food solutions provider Sats for public consumption during national emergencies, which were to be distributed from Feb 15 to 28 as part of 2025 Exercise SG Ready.
MPs like Yip Hon Weng (Yio Chu Kang) and Dennis Tan (Hougang) asked about supplier vetting processes, potential penalties, and steps to restore public confidence in food safety.
Testing of the samples of the meals collected by Singapore Food Agency (SFA) also found no foodborne pathogens, said Fu.
“SFA and the Ministry of Health are conducting a comprehensive investigation of this unfortunate incident, and SFA will take the necessary enforcement actions if any lapses are detected.”
She said: “We agree that we need to restore public confidence in the RTE meals.”
While the investigation is ongoing, it is still “too early to state the steps to take”, she added.
“SFA will conduct an after-action-review to draw and learn from the lessons of this episode,” she said, and the food agency will continue to work with schools, food business and community partners on the food resilience programme.
Following the Sota incident, the authorities suspended the Total Defence food resilience programme on Feb 20 pending investigation, while the school collected back the unconsumed RTE meals.
The same day, authorities had also reached out to other participants to see if there were other cases of related illness, said Fu.
“Sats, like all SFA licensed establishments, is required to comply with food safety requirements and subjected to food safety inspections,” said Fu.
This includes ensuring that no cross contamination occurs between raw and cooked food, ensuring cleanliness and no pest infestation, and having food workers certified with food safety training.
Fu said that on Jan 23, before the dissemination of RTE meals, SFA had inspected Sats’ premises and found it to be clean, with no food safety violations detected.
Sats had also individually tested each meal produced for leaks, Fu said, adding that an SFA-accredited laboratory had conducted sample microbiological testing to ensure food safety. - The Straits Times/ANN
