SINGAPORE: There were 187 cases of gastroenteritis from ready-to-eat (RTE) meals distributed as part of Total Defence Day, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu said on Tuesday (Mar 4).
Ms Fu was responding to parliamentary questions on food poisoning cases after some students from the School of the Arts (SOTA) ate the RTE meals and fell ill.
Authorities said on Feb 19 that 20 SOTA students had developed gastroenteritis symptoms and preliminary findings showed that it was an "isolated incident".
The total number of verified gastroenteritis cases has grown to 187 of Mar 3. Of the total, 184 were from schools, two were from Active Ageing Centres and one from a public agency.
This constituted about 0.16 per cent of the participants, said Ms Fu.
"All affected individuals have received the necessary medical attention and have since recovered. None were hospitalised," she added.
The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) has collected samples of the meals for testing. The tests did not find any foodborne pathogens, Ms Fu said.
SFA and the Ministry of Health (MOH) are conducting a comprehensive investigation of this incident, and SFA will take the necessary corrective and enforcement actions if any lapses are detected, she said.
13:03 Min
As of Mar 3, the total number of verified cases of gastroenteritis was 187. Of these, 184 were from schools, two from active ageing centres and one from a public agency. These accounted for about 0.16 per cent of those who took part in the Food Resilience Preparedness Programme, with ready-to-eat meals prepared by SATS. All affected individuals have recovered and none were hospitalised. The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) conducted tests and did not find any food-borne pathogens. SFA and the Ministry of Health are conducting a comprehensive investigation. Sustainability and the Environment Minister Grace Fu gave this update in reply to MPs’ questions in parliament on Tuesday (Mar 4).
The RTE meals were originally intended to be distributed to over 100,000 students and teachers from more than 90 schools as part of this year’s Food Resilience Preparedness Programme (FRPP), an initiative led by SFA.
Beyond the schools, it had also planned to work with AIC to distribute the meals to seniors at Active Ageing Centres across the island, with over 8,000 seniors across 111 centres taking part.
The meals were developed by SATS for public consumption during national emergencies. Leveraging its experience in producing army combat rations, SATS designed these meals to be stored without refrigeration and eaten at room temperature, and to have a shelf life of up to eight months.
The RTE distribution was originally scheduled to take place from Feb 15 to Feb 28.
Following reports of gastroenteritis, government agencies decided on Feb 20 to pause the FRPP until investigations on the SOTA cases were concluded.
At the same time, authorities also contacted other recipient institutions to check if there were other cases of related illness.
Replying to questions from MP Tan Wu Meng (PAP-Jurong) and MP Dennis Tan (WP-Hougang) about the causes of the reported gastroenteritis, the extent of the meals contaminated and if penalties will be imposed against SATS, Ms Fu said that joint investigations are ongoing.
She added that SFA inspected SATS’ premises on Jan 23, prior to the start of the FRPP. The premises were found to be clean and no food safety violations were detected. SATS had also put in place additional measures for FRPP.
Each meal produced under the FRPP was individually tested for leaks. An SFA-accredited laboratory also conducted sample microbiological testing to ensure food safety.
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Ms Fu was responding to parliamentary questions on food poisoning cases after some students from the School of the Arts (SOTA) ate the RTE meals and fell ill.
Authorities said on Feb 19 that 20 SOTA students had developed gastroenteritis symptoms and preliminary findings showed that it was an "isolated incident".
The total number of verified gastroenteritis cases has grown to 187 of Mar 3. Of the total, 184 were from schools, two were from Active Ageing Centres and one from a public agency.
This constituted about 0.16 per cent of the participants, said Ms Fu.
"All affected individuals have received the necessary medical attention and have since recovered. None were hospitalised," she added.
The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) has collected samples of the meals for testing. The tests did not find any foodborne pathogens, Ms Fu said.
SFA and the Ministry of Health (MOH) are conducting a comprehensive investigation of this incident, and SFA will take the necessary corrective and enforcement actions if any lapses are detected, she said.
13:03 Min
As of Mar 3, the total number of verified cases of gastroenteritis was 187. Of these, 184 were from schools, two from active ageing centres and one from a public agency. These accounted for about 0.16 per cent of those who took part in the Food Resilience Preparedness Programme, with ready-to-eat meals prepared by SATS. All affected individuals have recovered and none were hospitalised. The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) conducted tests and did not find any food-borne pathogens. SFA and the Ministry of Health are conducting a comprehensive investigation. Sustainability and the Environment Minister Grace Fu gave this update in reply to MPs’ questions in parliament on Tuesday (Mar 4).
The RTE meals were originally intended to be distributed to over 100,000 students and teachers from more than 90 schools as part of this year’s Food Resilience Preparedness Programme (FRPP), an initiative led by SFA.
Beyond the schools, it had also planned to work with AIC to distribute the meals to seniors at Active Ageing Centres across the island, with over 8,000 seniors across 111 centres taking part.
The meals were developed by SATS for public consumption during national emergencies. Leveraging its experience in producing army combat rations, SATS designed these meals to be stored without refrigeration and eaten at room temperature, and to have a shelf life of up to eight months.
The RTE distribution was originally scheduled to take place from Feb 15 to Feb 28.
Following reports of gastroenteritis, government agencies decided on Feb 20 to pause the FRPP until investigations on the SOTA cases were concluded.
At the same time, authorities also contacted other recipient institutions to check if there were other cases of related illness.
Replying to questions from MP Tan Wu Meng (PAP-Jurong) and MP Dennis Tan (WP-Hougang) about the causes of the reported gastroenteritis, the extent of the meals contaminated and if penalties will be imposed against SATS, Ms Fu said that joint investigations are ongoing.
She added that SFA inspected SATS’ premises on Jan 23, prior to the start of the FRPP. The premises were found to be clean and no food safety violations were detected. SATS had also put in place additional measures for FRPP.
Each meal produced under the FRPP was individually tested for leaks. An SFA-accredited laboratory also conducted sample microbiological testing to ensure food safety.
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