The Singapore Food Agency ( SFA ) and the Ministry of Health ( MOH) announced on Tuesday ( Apr 15 ) that investigations into the , gastroenteritis cases that emerged during a national preparedness exercise earlier this year have discovered no link to the consumption of ready-to-eat (RTE ) meals.
During the exercise, 187 people, or about 0.2 % of those who ate the dinners, experienced hepatitis symptoms.
There is no convincing evidence linking the reported hepatitis cases to the consumption of RTE foods, according to SFA and MOH in a statement released on the SFA site.
This implies that neither food safety nor medical results identified the ready-to-eat meals as the real cause of the incident.
No foodborne pathogens were found in the laboratory tests of RTE food samples, the economic swabs of products and call surfaces in SATS’ premises, as well as bench samples from affected individuals and meals handlers.
Some students from the School of the Arts ( SOTA ) and others who attended the meals, which were distributed on February 18 as part of Exercise SG Ready, which simulates crises like power outages and food shortages as part of the larger Total Defence exercise, fell ill after eating them.
The Food Resilience Preparedness Programme, an effort led by SFA, included the circulation of the foods this year. Following reports of the food toxicity circumstances, the program was put on hold as a precautionary measure, and SFA and MOH began looking into the matter.
No food safety lapses were discovered in the investigations conducted by SFA regarding the locations where the foods were made and the meals ‘ manufacturing processes, the authorities continued.
SFA and SATS are still working tightly together to review and improve their food production processes, they continued.
The organization continued to maintain a robust food safety regime and added that meals safety is a mutual responsibility.
The authorities did not disclose the reason for the hepatitis cases.
The ready-to-eat dishes were initially intended to be distributed to more than 100,000 students and teachers from more than 90 institutions.
With over 8, 000 elderly taking part in 111 centers across the island, SFA planned to work with Agency for Integrated Care to deliver the foods to seniors at Active Ageing Centers throughout the area.
Exams created dinners for people consumption during federal emergencies. SATS developed these foods to be stored without refrigeration, consumed at room temperature, and with an up to eight-month shelf life by drawing on its expertise in producing troops fight rations.