Food poisoning at PCF Sparkletots centres: Caterer back in business
SINGAPORE — Kate’s Catering, the caterer responsible for a food poisoning outbreak at several pre-schools in Singapore, is now allowed to resume operations.
SINGAPORE — Kate’s Catering, the caterer responsible for a food poisoning outbreak at several pre-schools in Singapore, is now allowed to resume operations.
In a joint media statement on Friday (May 17), the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) said that it was “satisfied that the measures required to rectify the lapses detected have been implemented” by the company, and it has lifted the 52-day suspension of its licence that was enforced on March 26.
SFA said that it is reviewing the findings from its investigations and will take “appropriate action” against Kate’s Catering for the lapses found.
The caterer will also be placed under “close surveillance” to ensure that it adheres to the food safety plans it has submitted to the authorities, SFA added.
It was first reported on March 27 that there was an outbreak of gastroenteritis at several PAP Community Foundation (PCF) centres which saw 109 people falling sick. Fifteen of them had to be taken to hospital.
In their investigations, the authorities found that the outbreak, which occurred between March 19 and 28, was caused by the bacteria Salmonella Enteritidis.
MOH and SFA identified several hygiene lapses during their joint inspections, conducted before the suspension.
They found that:
Frozen meat was not thawed properly
Workers repeatedly transitioned between handling ready-to-eat food and raw meat
Workers did not have a consistent understanding of how different sets of knives were to be used for ready-to-eat food and raw food
Cooking times to ensure thorough cooking were inconsistent
There was a lack of proper measures to check if food was properly cooked
Between March 19 and 25, the outbreak affected 259 people from 13 PCF Sparkletots centres and Plan Student Care Centre who had eaten food from Kate’s Catering.
Thirty-three people were hospitalised and they have since been discharged.
Salmonella Enteritidis was detected from the stool samples of 46 people who were affected.
During the suspension period, Kate’s Catering complied with measures specified by the SFA, such as disposing all ready-to-eat, thawed and perishable food.
It also cleaned and sanitised its premises, including its equipment and utensils, and submitted enhanced food safety plans.
Its food handlers re-attended and passed the Basic Food Hygiene course.
Kate’s Catering’s food hygiene officer also underwent training again and passed the Conduct Food and Beverage Hygiene Audit course, which is under the Workforce Skills Qualifications credential system.
After the outbreak, 15 PCF Sparkletots centres using the services of the caterer have switched to in-house cooks.