Cockroaches and contaminated chicken: Caterer fined S$7,000 over mass food poisoning incident at ByteDance's Singapore office
The fine was imposed for two offences: one under the Environmental Public Health (Food Hygiene) Regulations and another under the Sale of Food Act.
Appearing in court to receive the sentence on behalf of the company, Yunhaiyao chief executive officer Lu Zhi Tao listened as District Judge Janet Wang called the number of victims 'staggering' and said it was fortunate no deaths occurred.
The court heard that the affected individuals had consumed a wok-fried diced chicken dish catered by Yunhaiyao on July 30, 2024 that contained dangerously high levels of staphylococcus aureus — a bacterium known to cause foodborne illness.
Laboratory testing by the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) found the bacteria count in a food sample exceeded 200,000 colony-forming units per gram, far above the legal limit of 100 units.
SFA prosecutor Mohd Rizal told the court that 60 of the 171 victims were taken to hospital.
While 38 of them were treated as outpatients or self-medicated, 22 were hospitalised for between one and three days.
According to Channel News Asia, the SFA also found more than 10 live cockroaches during an inspection of the Yun Nans outlet at Northpoint City following the incident.
Yunhaiyao had earlier pleaded guilty to both charges.
The first was for failing to maintain food hygiene standards, as evidenced by the cockroach infestation.
The second was for selling food "not of the quality demanded by ByteDance", given the excessive staph contamination in the chicken dish.
Staphylococcus aureus can produce toxins in food when it's not properly cooked or stored, or when it is handled by individuals with poor hygiene.
The prosecution had sought a combined fine of S$5,500, noting this was the company's first offence.
However, Judge Wang imposed a slightly higher fine of S$7,000, citing the serious health consequences for a large number of people.
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