Tung Lok fined $3,000 after salad made on its Tai Seng premises found to contain E. coli; investigation came after complaint from CHIJMES event
A Tung Lok representative told the court in mitigation that the salad had been provided by a supplier, but acknowledged that the company also has 'a duty'.
SINGAPORE — A complaint about gastroenteritis from an event at CHIJMES resulted in a $3,000 fine for Tung Lok Millennium, a subsidiary of Tung Lok Restaurants. The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) had found E.coli, a type of bacteria known to cause food poisoning, present in a sample of a ready-to-eat salad that had been prepared on Tung Lok’s Tai Seng premises.
CNA reported that the restaurant pleaded guilty to preparing unsafe food on Wednesday (20 March).
A second charge of not properly maintaining and cleaning its premises was also taken into consideration, as Tung Lok had not maintained an overhead air-conditioning unit in its cold kitchen in Tai Seng.
Not the first time that Tung Lok had food safety issues
According to CNA, the SFA started its investigations after receiving a complaint about gastroenteritis at event at CHIJMES in June 2022. Tung Lok had provided the food for the event.
The SFA proceed to inspect the licensed premises of Tung Lok, where inspectors observed staff members preparing ready-to-eat washed salad.
A sample of the prepared salad was sent for analysis and found to be contaminated with E. coli. This made the salad unsafe for consumption, said the prosecutor.
He then sought a fine of $3,000 as the company had a “poor compliance history”.
In 2018, Tung Lok Millennium had been given a warning by the then-National Environment Agency after 190 people fell sick after consuming food catered by the restaurant. The restaurant’s operating license was also suspended for 62 days.
The prosecutor noted that while the company has not previously been charged in court, it was issued composition fines.
Tung Lok says ready-to-eat salad provided by supplier
A company representative said in mitigation that the ready-to-eat salad was provided by a supplier, and that the supplier was also responsible for ensuring the food they provided was safe for consumption, CNA reported.
“Nevertheless, the company is admitting to the offence. We know that we also have a duty,” the representative told the court.
The prosecutor clarified that while the inspection was conducted because of the complaint. as a similar salad had been served at the CHIJMES event, the charge was not directly linked, as it could not be determined that a contaminated salad had caused the gastroenteritis.
Tung Lok could have been fined up to $5,000 for preparing unsafe food. If they are found to keep offending, they will face a fine of up to $100 for each day they reoffended after conviction.
Earlier this year, KG Catering was suspended for two weeks for food hygiene issues and fined for selling and preparing food likely to be contaminated. They had also failed to keep their premises free of infestation. It was the second time in less than three months that the company had been penalised for food safety offences.
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