SINGAPORE — The authorities will be stepping up checks on food establishments during the year-end festive season, in anticipation of the higher number of consumers dining out and ordering catered food this period.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) and the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) said in a joint statement on Monday (Dec 3) that they will be “prioritising” their inspections to hone in on food catering service providers and other premises “with substantial catering operations”.

Last month alone, one person died and more than 400 people fell sick in three separate mass food poisoning cases, and the food was mainly supplied by caterers.

“Every catered meal carries an inherent risk as the food is not consumed immediately after it is prepared. Catering operations involve advance preparation of large quantities of food for consumption at a later time,” the NEA and AVA said.

During the inspections, their officers will provide advisory guidance and remind licensees and food handlers on proper food and personal hygiene practices, and that they do not engage in any food preparation if they are sick.

Manpower shortage may also be a factor that food retailers have to consider and manage.

“Food operators are reminded to have adequate capacity and maintain a proper system to handle the orders that they take on during this festive period, including for take-out services, to ensure that food hygiene and public health are not compromised,” the two government agencies said.

This year, NEA is also engaging key representatives from the Association of Catering Professionals Singapore and the Restaurant Association of Singapore about the importance of food hygiene and safety.

These associations represent caterers and restaurants which provide catering services, and they have committed to issuing similar reminders to their members.

NEA and AVA will be conducting similar briefings to other major food service operators during this festive period.

They will be issuing their regular year-end advisories to food operators to remind them to adhere to good hygiene practices during food preparation and handling, such that food sold is safe for consumption. 

Operators are to ensure that all their food handlers have attended the requisite basic hygiene training and are registered with NEA.
 
EAT FOOD WITHIN RECOMMENDED TIME

In helping to prevent incidents of food poisoning, consumers have a part to play as well.

They should order only from licensed food caterers, which can be found on NEA’s website.

For catered food, consumers should ensure that food is eaten within the specified “consume by” time period, the authorities said.

Caterers are required to provide a time-stamp for pre-packed and catered meals to inform consumers of the recommended “consume by” time. This is set at four hours from the time a cooked dish is placed at a temperature between 5°C and 60°C.

Food-borne pathogenic bacteria multiply quickly between this temperature range, the authorities said. For example, if a cooked food item is contaminated with bacteria as a result of cross-contamination between raw and cooked food, or poor hand hygiene practices, keeping that food item at these ambient temperatures could allow the bacteria to multiply to sufficient levels that could cause food poisoning when the food item is eaten.

NEA has made it mandatory for caterers to adopt a food safety management system, to ensure that good practices are observed in preparing meals.

It will be extending this requirement to all licence-holders with permission to provide catering as an ancillary service, with effect from April 1 next year.

All caterers and permitted-to-cater licensees have to implement a food safety management system before obtaining or renewing their licences.

In an update, NEA said that it has conducted more than 73,000 inspections on food retail establishments from January to November this year. It has taken more than 2,600 enforcement actions against food retail operators who failed to comply with hygiene regulations and suspended 84 licences.

In the same period, AVA has conducted more than 9,000 inspections on food manufacturers, taken close to 500 enforcement actions against licensees who failed to comply with  regulations and suspended 13 licences.

For people cooking at home, or hosting parties and year-end gatherings, the authorities also reminded them to be aware of and adopt good food safety practices when buying, preparing, cooking and storing food.

More food safety tips may be found on the websites of NEA and AVA.

Consumers who come across poor hygiene practices in food establishments are advised not to patronise such outlets and to call NEA at 1800-2255632 with details for follow-up investigations.
 
RECENT FOOD POISONING CASES

• Nov 26: 131 people, including kindergarten students and teachers, were hit by gastroenteritis while at a learning camp. They fell ill after taking food prepared by FoodTalks Caterer and Manufacturer located at Shimei East Kitchen along Bedok North Street 5.

• Nov 23: 190 people fell ill after eating food prepared by TungLok Catering for the Singapore Civil Defence Force’s public exhibition at the Singapore Expo.

• Nov 9: NEA announced that it had suspended the licence of popular eatery Spize along River Valley Road, after 81 cases of gastroenteritis were traced to pre-packed meals prepared by the restaurant for a Deepavali celebration by security firm Brink’s Singapore on Nov 6. At least 45 people were hospitalised, and a 38-year-old man under intensive care died on Nov 14.