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Suspected cause of Sports School food poisoning
By Mustafa Shafawi | Posted: 09 December 2010 1316 hrs
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SINGAPORE: Cordial drinks and chicken frank rolls were suspected to have caused the mass food poisoning incident at the Singapore Sports School canteen last month which affected 106 students.
This is according to investigations into the incident by the Ministry of Health (MOH), the National Environment Agency (NEA) and the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA).
In a joint statement the three agencies said they couldn't determine the exact cause of the food poisoning in the absence of positive patient samples.
Their investigations showed that the cordial drinks prepared by canteen operator, ISS Catering Services, were served to students using a plastic bucket which was not clearly labelled.
The agencies said clear labelling of containers used for food preparation is important to minimise the risk of cross-contamination.
One of the food handlers was also tested positive for Salmonella. She was required to stop working from the time of the outbreak until she was certified fit on 7 December.
The chicken frank rolls manufacturer, Wei Cian Foods, was also investigated.
The food handlers there tested negative for food-borne pathogens although one food handler was observed to handle ready-to-eat food with his bare hands.
Six chicken frank roll samples were taken out of which only one had some bacteria on it.
But the level of Bacillus cereus bacteria in the sample was not high enough to be the cause of food poisoning.
The AVA has reminded Wei Cian Foods, who has no past history of food safety violations, to observe good manufacturing and food handling practices.
ISS Catering Services, whose licence to operate the canteen has been suspended since 11 November, will no longer operate the canteen from January.
The school has decided to award the operating contract to a new operator, who will be named soon.
In a statement, the school said ISS Catering Services has offered compensation for the medical expenses incurred by affected staff and student athletes.
They are in discussion with the company for compensation for the shortfall of meals during the suspension of its operation in the school.
School principal, Deborah Tan, said the school will also appoint an independent food hygiene assessor as a further check on the new caterer.
NEA has instructed ISS Catering Services to review its systems and practices for all its other 28 food outlets.
The company has run the school's canteen since January 2008.
And this is not the first time that it has been found wanting in terms of hygiene.
In April, it was fined S$500 and given six demerit points for having dirty premises and poor rubbish management procedures at the school.
It was also involved in two earlier food poisoning cases there.
ISS-CDSC Catering, a sister company, will also be conducting a similar review of the food outlets it is servicing.
- CNA/ir
