SINGAPORE: A Chinese restaurant that prepared and cooked seafood foraged from Changi Beach has apologised for doing that.
In a statement posted on its Facebook page on Aug 8, Havelock Palace confirmed that the marine life “collected from Singapore’s inter-tidal areas” was brought to the restaurant, and was prepared and cooked in its kitchen.
“We acknowledge that accepting and handling ingredients outside our approved sourcing channels did not meet the standards we expect of ourselves as a food establishment,” it said.
“We take responsibility for this and sincerely apologise.”
Its apology came after a video on Chinese social media platform Douyin showed a group’s haul of marine life – including crabs and shellfish – that had been foraged from Changi Beach. The haul was then taken to Havelock Palace to be prepared and cooked.
Snippets of the video were later uploaded in a post on Facebook group Complain Singapore on July 13, sparking a backlash from nature-loving netizens and criticism from Pasir Ris-Changi GRC MP Valerie Lee.
Havelock Palace, located in Clarke Quay, said it has since tightened its food sourcing and receiving controls, and strengthened supplier documentation and traceability.
It now prohibits food from unauthorised or unverified sources from entering its kitchen. It has also conducted refresher training on food safety and handling for its management and kitchen teams.
“We also recognise that some of our earlier responses online did not clearly explain the situation and may have caused further confusion. We apologise for this,” the restaurant said.
It added that it was “committed to upholding higher standards in food safety, responsible sourcing and the trust of its guests”.
“Thank you for your understanding and for holding us accountable,” it said.
In an advisory on its website, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA), which is responsible for food safety, advised the public against eating shellfish from the wild.
“These shellfish may contain biotoxins which cannot be removed by cooking,” it said, adding that shellfish should always be purchased from “SFA-approved businesses (importers, retailers)”.
The Straits Times has contacted the SFA for more information. - The Straits Times/ANN
