An investigation in Singapore has been unable to find what made almost 200 people sick earlier this year.
The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) and the Ministry of Health said there is no conclusive evidence linking the reported cases to the consumption of ready-to-eat (RTE) meals.
The incident occurred during the Food Resilience Preparedness Programme (FRPP), where 187 people, or about 0.2 percent of those who consumed the meals, were verified with gastroenteritis symptoms. All patients have recovered and none were hospitalized.
SFA said food safety and clinical findings did not point to the RTE meals as the definitive cause of the incident. Laboratory testing of meal samples, the environmental swabs of equipment, and contact surfaces in the caterer’s premises as well as stool samples from affected individuals and food handlers showed no foodborne pathogens.
Caterer welcomes findings
SFA’s investigation of the manufacturing premises and processes also found no food safety lapses. However, the agency is working with the company to review and strengthen food production processes.
Five options were prepared at a SATS kitchen in Singapore. They were chicken Bolognese pasta; curry chicken with biryani rice; fish porridge with sweet potato and pumpkin; sweet spicy tomato fish with Basmati rice; and vegetable marinara pasta. Meals can be kept without refrigeration and served without reheating at ambient temperatures.
SFA inspected SATS’ premises in January 2025 and the site was judged to be clean with no food safety violations uncovered.
SATS Food Solutions welcomed the results of the investigation.
“We are pleased that our ambient RTE meals have been cleared of being the cause of the food safety incident during this year’s Food Resilience Preparedness Programme,” said Stanley Goh, CEO.
“During the investigations, SATS ambient RTE production facilities, kitchen staff and operational practices were put through a comprehensive review to assess food safety across the production cycle. We hope that the SFA and MOH findings offer additional assurance of the high food safety standards in place within SATS kitchens.”
Enforcement actions
Also in Singapore, Continental Delight Catering Services and Elsie’s Kitchen Catering Services have been fined.
In November 2023, the Ministry of Health and Singapore Food Agency received reports of 107 sick people who had consumed food prepared by Continental Delight Catering Services.
An investigation at the caterer’s premises found multiple food safety lapses. These included a damaged hot-holding metal cabinet, which may cause it to be ineffective in maintaining cooked food at a safe temperature, as well as a food sample that failed SFA testing. The company was fined SGD $1,000 (U.S. $763) in court.
Also in November 2023, the MOH and SFA were informed of gastroenteritis affecting 166 people who had eaten food prepared by Elsie’s Kitchen Catering Services.
An investigation at the premises found two damaged hot-holding metal cabinets. The company was fined SGD $500 (U.S. $381) in court.
Finally, Shiok Kitchen Catering was fined SGD $8,000 (U.S. $6,100) in court for food safety violations.
In November and December 2023, the Ministry of Health and Singapore Food Agency received reports of gastroenteritis involving 395 people after consuming food catered by Shiok Kitchen Catering.
Inspections at the facility found a dirty chiller, ice making machine, and kitchen scale and cockroaches in an unused chiller. A food sample of ready-to-eat spinach, collected from the site for laboratory testing, was found to be unfit for human consumption.
(To sign up for a free subscription to Food Safety News, click here.)