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Shangri-La Hotel Singapore‘s buffet restaurant, The Line Restaurant, recently had its food hygiene grade downgraded from an ‘A‘ to a ‘C‘ following a food poisoning case that occurred in 2022.
The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) released a statement about the downgrade in early Sep 2023. According to them, 10 people had been reported to have developed gastroenteritis symptoms after they had dined at The Line Restaurant on 26 Dec 2022. Of the 10 people, 2 of them had to be hospitalised.
Following the incident, the Ministry of Health (MOH) and SFA conducted a joint investigation, and carried out an inspection of the premises on 30 Dec 2022. Though they did not find any hygiene lapses, SFA took enforcement action against the licensee for selling unclean food to its patrons.
On 8 Sep 2023, The Line Restaurant’s food hygiene grade was adjusted from an ‘A’ to a ‘C’, and the premises will be kept under surveillance. The hygiene grade will be reviewed again after 12 months.
Sarawakian girls left vomiting & hyperventilating after mistaking maggots in corn dogs for rice
SFA reminded food business operators to adhere to good food safety processes and procedures, reminding them to carry out good hygiene practices like the washing of hands before handling food.
The Line Restaurant isn’t the first Food & Beverage (F&B) business in Singapore to be penalised for having food hygiene lapses. Recently, Rasel Catering was fined S$4,800 and had their food hygiene grade readjusted from ‘A’ to ‘C’ after 345 people got gastroenteritis after consuming their food. Live cockroaches an a dirty food container was found in use too.
Such incidences have also happened in Malaysia. Just a month ago, 2 girls from Sarawak were left vomiting and hyperventilating after ingesting corn dogs from Gedong Fest — to their dismay, the corn dogs had been filled to the brim with maggots.
Food safety is extremely important when it comes to being an F&B business or vendor. Hopefully other businesses will take necessary precautions to ensure that such incidents do not happen.
