Oral Reply to Parliamentary Questions on Food Safety of Ready-to-Eat Meals

Question:

To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) what are the causes of the reported food poisoning symptoms in students at the School of the Arts who consumed ready-to-eat meals distributed as part of Total Defence activities; and (b) what microbiological and shelf-life studies are required by the Singapore Food Agency and conducted as part of Food Resilience Preparedness Programme product testing.

To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment in view of the suspension of the Total Defence food resilience programme after the School of the Arts food poisoning incident (a) what processes are currently in place to vet suppliers of ready-to-eat meals for all Government programmes; and (b) whether are there are plans to introduce more stringent checks or audits to ensure compliance with food safety regulations.

To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment with regard to the gastroenteritis outbreak among students at the School of the Arts after consuming ready-to-eat meals prepared by SATS at a Food Resilience Preparedness Programme on 18 February 2025 (a) how many meals were contaminated and whether the contamination extended to meals for other organisations such as active ageing centres; (b) what are the causes for the contamination; and (c) whether any penalties will be imposed against SATS.

To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) what steps are being taken to restore public confidence in the safety of ready-to-eat meals used in resilience programmes; and (b) whether there are plans to conduct public demonstrations or education initiatives on the rigorous food safety measures in place.

To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) what are the lessons that can be learnt from the recent food poisoning incident involving Ready-to-Eat meals distributed during Total Defence Day; and (b) whether measures will be considered to promote food safety practices in schools, businesses and other community partners during Total Defence Day activities.

Answer:

1 Mr Speaker, may I have your permission to take Oral Question Nos 1 – 3 and Written Question No 2 in today’s Order Paper, as well as a question on the same topic raised by Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim scheduled for the Sitting on 5 March together. These five PQs relate to the food safety incident at the School of the Arts (SOTA).

2 The Food Resilience Preparedness Programme (FRPP) which involved the distribution of over 100,000 Ready-to-Eat (RTE) meals to secondary schools, pre-universities, Institutes of Technical Education, public agencies, and Active Ageing Centres was part of this year’s commemoration of Total Defence Day. The RTE distribution was originally scheduled to take place from 15 February to 28 February.

3 On 19 February 2025, SFA was informed that 20 students at SOTA exhibited symptoms of gastroenteritis after they had consumed RTE meals. Students who needed medical attention sought outpatient medical treatment and have since recovered. None of the students were hospitalised. On 20 February 2025, SFA, together with the Ministry of Education (MOE), Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) and food caterer SATS, decided to pause the FRPP until investigations on the SOTA gastroenteritis cases were concluded. At the same time, we also reached out to other recipient institutions to ascertain if there were other cases of related illness.

4 Joint investigations by the Ministry of Health (MOH) and SFA are ongoing. As of 3 March, the total number of verified cases of gastroenteritis was 187, of which 184 were from schools, 2 were from Active Ageing Centres and 1 from a public agency. This constituted about 0.16% of the participants. All affected individuals have received the necessary medical attention and have since recovered. None were hospitalised. SFA has also collected samples of the meals for testing. The tests did not find any foodborne pathogens. SFA and MOH are conducting a comprehensive investigation of this incident, and SFA will take the necessary corrective and enforcement actions if any lapses are detected.

5 Members asked about the food safety processes applied to the supply of RTE meals. SATS is required to comply with food safety requirements and subjected to food safety inspections. Food safety requirements include ensuring that food preparation areas and process workflows are set up in a way that prevent cross-contamination between raw and cooked food, putting systems in place to ensure cleanliness and freedom from pest infestation, as well as having food workers certified with food safety training.

6 SFA inspected SATS’ premises on 23 January 2025, 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. Further, an SFA-accredited laboratory conducted sample microbiological testing to ensure food safety.

7 Member asked about steps taken to restore public confidence in the safety of RTE meals used in resilience programmes. We agree that we need to restore public confidence in the RTE meals. As investigation is ongoing, it is too early to state the steps to take. SFA will conduct an After-Action-Review to draw and learn from the lessons of this episode. SFA will continue to engage stakeholders, including schools, food businesses and community partners on our FRPP.