Eight Pat's Schoolhouse pre-schools were affected by the food poisoning incident caused by Mum's Kitchen Catering. …
A food poisoning outbreak last month that hit 10 pre-schools has been traced to a bacterium called Salmonella Enteritidis.
Investigations by the Ministry of Health (MOH) and National Environment Agency (NEA) concluded that the bacteria was found in the seafood marinara pasta supplied by caterer Mum's Kitchen to the pre-schools for lunch on 10 May.
Mum's Kitchen was the caterer for eight of Pat's Schoolhouse preschools, The Children's Place at Kay Siang Road and Learning Vision at Raffles place, where over 270 people were affected.
Investigations revealed that there may have been cross-contamination of pasta with raw food during preparation at the caterer's premises.
A Health Ministry statement said that interviews with the food handlers employed by the caterer indicated that the same trays were used to hold raw and cooked foods.
This may be a possible cause of cross-contamination, if the trays were not cleaned properly and as meat, seafood and poultry were also being prepared in the same area, it increased the risk of cross-contamination.
NEA told Yahoo! Singapore that "the caterer's license was suspended in the interest of public safety given the seriousness of the incident".
Due to the severity of the incident, the caterer will be charged in court for selling food unfit for human consumption under the Sale of Food Act Section 15.
If convicted, the caterer will face a fine of up to S$5,000. This is on top of the S$300 fine and 4 demerit points that was slapped on Mum's Kitchen earlier.
The suspension will run until the caterer complies with the conditions by NEA. Subsequently, Mum's Kitchen will be subjected to frequent and stringent checks when they start operations to ensure the new measures are implemented effectively.
To reduce the recurrence of similar incidences in future, NEA will also step up its engagement with caterers. It will issue advisories on best practices in food safety management, food storage, preparation and serving.
The advisories will stress the importance of separating the storage and preparation of raw and cooked food, the use of different sets of utensils when handling raw and cooked food, and the need for food handlers to wash their hands thoroughly after handling raw food.
NEA will also step up engagement with consumers. From next month, NEA will publish the food hygiene track records of all caterers on its website to allow the public to make better informed choices when purchasing catered meals.
They will also be advising childcare centre operators on good hygiene practices when handling and consuming catered food.
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