Local caterer Gourmetz Pte Ltd has been fined S$13,000 after River Valley Primary School (RVPS) pupils came down with gastroenteritis after eating its food.
An inspection of its central kitchen found a dirty trolley and racks used to store food, said the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) in a media release on Friday (9 Oct).
Source: Singapore Food Agency
The incident in January affected 45 RVPS pupils in total, SFA said.
They had consumed food supplied by Gourmetz, which operates its canteen under the Central Kitchen Meal Model (CKMM) that was rolled out this year.
One of the pupils was hospitalised and has recovered.
After SFA and the Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA) received reports of the incident, they conducted a joint inspection at Gourmetz’s premises, which are located at 1 Enterprise Road in Boon Lay.
Source: Google Maps
They identified multiple food safety lapses, including food storage violations.
Among the violations were a dirty food trolley and dirty racks found in its central kitchen.
Source: Singapore Food Agency
According to court proceedings reported by Channel NewsAsia (CNA), the door of the meat chiller room was damaged, which could have affected the temperature of the meat stored inside.
Scum had accumulated on a rack used to store seafood, and black spots were seen on the ceiling of the processed vegetable chiller room.
When SFA conducted a follow-up inspection, it found more food storage violations as well as false food labelling, it said.
For example, packed bento meals were packed and ready for delivery at about 6.48am, but they were labelled “ready by 8.30am”, indicating a later preparation time.
This was deceptive, as the recommended consumption period was within four hours.
Additionally, raw marinated chicken was placed on dirty plastic pallets and frozen pastries were left uncovered in a raw material freezer, exposed to contamination.
Besides RVPS, Gourmetz also serves CHIJ (Kellock), Radin Mas Primary School, Blangah Rise Primary School and Outram Secondary School.
But it will continue as a CKMM operator, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said, despite the gastroenteritis incident.
An MOE spokesperson told CNA that it had “carefully considered” the circumstances of the case and taken into account that Gourmetz had strengthened its operations since the incident.
This included moving to a larger central kitchen under its parent company’s direct supervision and having in-house food safety officers conduct regular audits.
The ministry has issued a formal warning to Gourmetz, emphasising that any lapses in future may result in termination of service.
It also pledged to keep a close watch on the caterer’s performance and work with it to ensure SFA food safety requirements are complied with.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from Singapore Food Agency and Google Maps.