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SINGAPORE: Two catering companies have had their food hygiene grade cut to "C" after 45 people fell ill in separate incidents of food poisoning.
The incidents involved Chilli Api Catering and Pro*3 Institutional Catering which had their rating downgraded on Jun 18 and Jun 17 respectively.
CHILLI API CATERING
Chilli Api had catered for employees of Jurong Polyclinic on Dec 18, 2018, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) in a joint reply to CNA's queries on Saturday (Jun 22).
Twenty-four polyclinic staff who consumed the food developed symptoms of gastroenteritis between Dec 18 and Dec 19. None of them were hospitalised.
Authorities conducted a joint inspection of the caterer's kitchen and found several hygiene lapses.
"While the exact causative pathogen for the outbreak could not be determined, faecal coliforms were detected in food and environmental samples, indicating poor personal and environmental hygiene and food preparation practices, which could have contributed to the outbreak," said MOH and SFA.
"SFA also found hygiene lapses such as poor housekeeping of the premises and exhaust hood."
Chilli Api has since rectified the lapses, said authorities.
PRO*3 INSTITUTIONAL CATERING
The incident involving Pro*3 Institutional Catering happened at the National Junior College Boarding School where 21 people developed symptoms of gastroenteritis between Mar 9 and 10 this year.
None of them were hospitalised.
A joint inspection of the in-house kitchen found hygiene lapses such as poor housekeeping of the premises, said MOH and SFA.
CNA has reached out to Pro*3 Institutional Catering and Chilli Api Catering for comment. They are among three caterers which had their food hygiene rating downgraded so far this month due to cases of food poisoning.
Earlier in June, SFA said in a notice on its website that Delizio Catering had its food hygiene grade cut to "C" after 18 people fell ill at a Christmas party.
In May, Elsie's Kitchen's food hygiene grade was also downgraded to a "C" after a food poisoning incident involving dozens of people earlier in the year.
In April, authorities investigated a gastroenteritis outbreak at Zhenghua Primary School after 230 people fell ill with symptoms including diarrhoea and vomiting.
[Source: Channel NewsAsia - Two caterers get food hygiene grade cut to 'C' after 45 people fall ill]
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