SINGAPORE, Feb 21 — A national preparedness initiative involving ready-to-eat meals has been suspended as a precautionary measure following cases of food poisoning at the School of the Arts (SOTA).
In a joint statement on Thursday (February 20), the Singapore Food Agency (SFA), Ministry of Education (MOE), Agency for Integrated Care (AIC), and food caterer SATS announced that it “will pause the Food Resilience Preparedness Programme as a precautionary measure until investigations on the SOTA gastroenteritis cases are concluded”, according to a report by Channel News Asia today.
Singapore media had earlier reported on Wednesday that 20 students had developed symptoms such as diarrhoea, nausea, and vomiting after consuming the meals.
The ready-to-eat meals were originally meant to be distributed to over 100,000 students and teachers across more than 90 schools as part of this year’s programme, which is led by SFA.
The initiative also extended to seniors at Active Ageing Centres, with over 8,000 seniors at 111 centres expected to receive the meals.
SATS developed the meals for public consumption during national emergencies, using its expertise in producing army combat rations.
The meals are designed to be stored without refrigeration, consumed at room temperature, and have a shelf life of up to eight months.
SOTA students were provided with the meals on Tuesday as part of Exercise SG Ready, a Total Defence drill simulating crises such as power outages and food supply disruptions.
The affected students represent about 1 per cent of those who consumed the meals, according to a joint statement by SFA, MOE, the Ministry of Health, and SATS.
SATS stated on Thursday that it had delivered 1,475 meals to SOTA and over 100,000 meals to more than 200 locations since February 11, with no other reported incidents.
The company is working with authorities to determine the cause of the food poisoning cases.
“A thorough investigation will include an examination of our products, production sites, and other consumed items, as well as a consideration of potentially contributory factors such as environmental influences,” SATS said.
Emphasising its commitment to food safety, SATS assured the public that its meals undergo advanced sterilisation processes, and all ingredients are traceable to their sources.