Durian seller in Singapore defends hygiene after unsanitary food handling allegations
A popular durian livestream seller in Singapore has come under fire after videos of their livestreams surfaced showing questionable hygiene practices, including a staff member wiping his nose with a gloved hand and continuing to handle durians.
The videos, posted on the TikTok account @sgexposed7, sparked concern among viewers, with one clip captioned: “Singapore durian seller displayed extremely unhygienic practices, handling the fruit with bare hands that were visibly dirty and covered in open wounds.”
Source: @sgexposed7 on TikTok
Another clip in the account emphasised how the staff member in the livestream spoke directly over exposed durian flesh with no spit mask, adding sarcastically, “He’s right about selling the best durian due to his [added ingredient] of saliva.”
TikTok user says hygiene was “completely absent” in durian livestreams
Speaking to MS News, the admin of TikTok account @sgexposed7, said the footage was taken during a livestream on 8 July.
“What shocked me was the complete disregard for basic food hygiene,” the admin said.
“No spit mask, no gloves on both hands, and even after cutting himself on camera, he continued working without covering the wound.”
Source: @sgexposed7 on TikTok
They added that after a viewer commented on the livestream, the staff member “reluctantly put on a glove for the other hand”.
Highlighting that society is more conscious than ever about hygiene, the user told MS News that the durian seller’s actions “felt careless” and “almost defiant”.
They believe the durians seen in the livestream were meant for customer orders, despite claims to the contrary:
Who opens box after box of durians just for themselves?
Source: @sgexposed7 on TikTok
Business owner insists durians on livestream are not for sale
Responding to the allegations, Mr Eric Xie — owner of HengBros Singapore — acknowledged receiving feedback from viewers who had watched their livestreams.
“Durians packed are not for personal consumption, they are to be put on our shelves and sealed, then sold,” he told MS News.
However, Mr Xie clarified that the durians opened during livestreams are not the same ones being sold to customers:
The streamers cut durians for their own consumption or for show. The durian they cut is not meant for sale.
Image courtesy of Eric Xie
As for the incident where a staff member was seen using the same glove to wipe his nose, Mr Xie explained that the staff had used a knife to handle the durian, and not his hands.
He emphasised that the durian in the video was not for sale.
Durian store owner insisted they followed SFA protocols
Mr Xie also said the business holds a valid Singapore Food Agency (SFA) licence, and that all durians are quality-checked, sealed, and cut by trained staff, and not the individuals seen on streams.
“We have our food safety and hygiene protocols in place. Our streamers just want to show the quality and eat the durians themselves during streams.”
Image courtesy of Eric Xie
He added that a police report has been lodged against the @sgexposed account.
Also read: S’pore vendor seen throwing durians on ground, netizens say it mimics ripening of fruit
S’pore vendor seen throwing durians on ground, netizens say it mimics ripening of fruit
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Featured image adapted from @sgexposed7 on TikTok and TikTok.
