4 Sparkletots outlets in Sengkang hit by gastroenteritis outbreak; 7 more being monitored

SINGAPORE — An outbreak of gastroenteritis at four PCF Sparkletots in Sengkang Central has left some parents and guardians worried about the welfare of their children and charges who go to one of the affected preschools.

The four outlets hit by the condition are at Sengkang Central Blk 210, Blk 270, Blk 290A and Blk 298B. Seven other outlets that were served by the caterer, Kate’s Catering, are being monitored, said PCF on Wednesday (March 27).

Madam Lo Chui Yee, 32, told TODAY that even though her four-year-old daughter was not affected by the outbreak, she was still concerned as the latter fell ill over the weekend.

Her daughter, who is in K1, had a headache, felt lethargic and nauseous and developed a slight fever.

“Fortunately, the doctor said it was just a slight fever,” added Mdm Lo, who also has a one-year-old son in infant care at outlet in Blk 298B.

Parents and guardians were also concerned that the school had not informed them of the outbreak until at least three days after it first occurred.

Mdm Lo said she only found out about it on Monday after overhearing other parents’ conversations. “My girl told me there were only five to four kids left in class,” she said, adding that a class usually has about 15 children.

A 40-year-old parent who only wanted to be known as Madam Chan said she only received information about the outbreak on Tuesday when the school sent a message to a parents’ group chat.

Mdm Chan, who has a son in K1, said the school had been changing caterers quite often since 2017, when they made the switch from an in-house cook to a catering company.

“I’m not told which caterer it is (when changes were made). But my boy said the food is nice.”

Madam Mary Goh, whose granddaughter is in K1, added: “I don’t trust catering, it is not safe. All the food is pre-packed, unlike (an in-house cook).”

On Wednesday, PCF said that Kate’s Catering had its operations suspended the day before. A representative from Kate’s Catering told TODAY that its kitchen was undergoing sanitisation while it was being investigated.

PCF did not say where the seven other outlets served by Kate’s Catering are.

TODAY understands that the results from the investigation may be out in two to three weeks.

PCF said in its statement: “We are taking this matter seriously and our priority was to ensure that our children receive the necessary medical care and attention.

“We are in close contact with affected parents and monitoring their children’s condition. Our staff have also carried out cleaning and disinfection protocols of the centres’ premises to reduce the risks of further contamination.”

The Ministry of Health (MOH), National Environment Agency (NEA) and the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) said in a joint statement on Wednesday that 109 people had fallen ill, with 15 taken to the hospital. Six have been discharged so far.

PCF added that while the cause of the children’s illnesses has yet to be determined, as a precautionary measure, it has suspended this caterer’s services at all 11 centres for an indefinite period of time.

“Temporary food arrangements have already been made to provide meals from an in-house cook with the requisite certification or from other NEA-certified food caterers,” it said.

“We will continue to monitor this food arrangement closely and make daily checks on food supplied for our children.”

MOH, NEA and AVA said the outbreak was traced to the consumption of food prepared by Kate’s Catering. An inspection of the caterer’s premises was conducted last Friday, the same day that authorities were notified of the first cluster of cases.

Additional clusters of cases were reported on Monday, and NEA instructed Kate’s Catering to suspend its operations a day later.

As part of the investigations, food handlers were sent for stool screening, and food and environmental samples have been taken for testing.

This outbreak follows two other similar cases in pre-schools last month.

A Feb 1 lunch at PCF's Toa Payoh outlet left 14 children vomiting and having diarrhoea, while authorities announced on Feb 26 that 31 people developed gastroenteritis at Tanglin MindChamps pre-school.