Singapore: The Singapore Food Authority (SFA) said on Friday (October 22) that it is investigating a meal solution for residents of Westlite Jalan Tukang Dormitory.
This is after a photo that appeared in an online article last week showing insects and hair in the food package.
Workers in the dormitory complained about the quality of food provided by external catering suppliers and the lack of hygiene in the preparation process. Sembcorp Marine said on Friday that it had “taken the responsibility of the catering supplier” and apologized to the workers living in the dormitory.
In response to CNA’s inquiry, SFA stated that it had not received any feedback from residents of Westlite Tukang Dormitory on the food.
The agency pointed out that in May, it cooperated with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) to issue food safety advisories to dormitory operators and employers of migrant workers.
SFA said: “Remind operators/management and employers to only work with licensed catering suppliers, and encourage workers to maintain good personal hygiene and put time-stamped labels on catering food.”
Since 2019, SFA has taken about 20 enforcement actions against licensed food companies that provide food to migrant workers’ dormitories. The agency said it included warning letters and constituting fines.
“All SFA-licensed food companies, including catering suppliers, must comply with SFA’s regulatory requirements. SFA conducts regular inspections of these institutions to ensure compliance,” it added.
SFA stated that all licensed catering suppliers must comply with the same requirements, regardless of who they serve food to.
These include time stamping meals to inform people of the recommended “consumption” time. According to the agency, it is set to 4 hours after the cooked dishes are placed in a dangerous temperature zone of 5 degrees Celsius to 60 degrees Celsius after they are first prepared for consumption.
According to its website, Catering Solutions offers bento boxes specially designed to ensure freshness.
“Our specially designed bento box is air-tightly sealed and gas flushed when necessary to maintain the freshness of the food and prevent contamination,” it said.
Food quality is one of the questions raised by residents of Westlite Jalan Tukang Dormitory. They also complained about dragging COVID-19 cases out of the dormitory.
The Ministry of Manpower admitted that due to the “unexpected” increase in COVID-19 cases in the dormitory, “insufficient resources” were deployed, resulting in delays in transferring these cases to nursing or rehabilitation facilities.
