Caterer’s license in Singapore revoked due to food safety issues

The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) has revoked the company’s license due to food safety concerns.

Since late March 2024, SFA has received several complaints about the safety of home-delivery meals offered by five internet companies.

Some of the problems included undercooked and moldy food or the presence of foreign matter such as hair and insects.

Investigation revealed that the food supplied by these online companies were all supplied by Sakura Buffet Pte, licensed by SFA to provide catering services.

Previous violations reported
SFA also discovered another seven web-based companies related to Sakura Buffet Pte.

Inspections from March to May at the licensed premises of Sakura Buffet Pte in Geylang Bahru revealed several food safety deficiencies. These included failure to keep the premises clean and false labels on the time stamp of packaged food. The food safety management system was also poorly implemented at the site.

SFA had taken enforcement action against Sakura Buffet Pte four times from November 2023 to April 2024 for various food safety and hygiene violations. The agency said the company nevertheless failed to improve.

SFA said it has revoked the company’s license to protect consumers from further food safety violations. This means that Sakura Buffet Pte cannot operate from their premises in Geylang Bahru.

Consumers were advised not to place orders with the twelve web-based companies linked to Sakura Buffet Pte. They are Yu Mummy Confinement Meals, Home Tingkat Catering, Happy Mamapapa Catering, Vegetarian Buffet, Angel Confinement Meals, After Surgery Food Delivery / Catering, Healthy Meals Catering, Keto Meals Catering, Grain Luscious, Royal Cuisine Group / The Garden Kitchen Pte; Nonya buffet; and catering for maternity meals.

Other enforcement
Several other fines and food seizures were also reported in Singapore in May.

The partner of Suri Rao Coconut Trading was fined SG$8,000 (US$5,900) by the court for illegally importing meat products from Malaysia.

In October 2022, Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers discovered a truckload of frozen poultry, which had been incorrectly declared as processed food, at Tuas Checkpoint. The case was referred to the Singapore Food Agency and upon investigation, more than 1,200 kilos of illegally imported poultry were found.

In another case, Sino You International Pte was fined SG$6,500 (US$4,800) for illegally importing fresh and processed products. Director Zhang Bao Yin was also fined the same amount for failing to prevent the violation.

In February 2023, Singapore Food Agency officials discovered more than 2.6 tonnes of undeclared or underdeclared fresh and processed produce in shipments imported from China. The products include oranges, red and green peppers, chives and peeled garlic.

In January 2024, SFA officials inspected the premises of Deep Sea Gourmet Pte and found frozen seafood products, such as shrimp, crab meat and abalone, stored in three freezers. The location does not have a permit as a cold storage facility and 390 kilos of frozen fish products were seized. Deep Sea Gourmet Pte was fined SG$3,000 (US$2,200) for operating a cold store without a permit.

In May 2024, the Singapore Food Agency seized approximately 1.6 tonnes of fresh vegetables and processed foods illegally imported from Malaysia.

SFA and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority carried out the operation on vegetable delivery vehicles entering Singapore through the Woodlands Checkpoint. The products include bayam, bitter gourd, tomato, turnip and peeled onion, imported by two importers in two trucks.

Finally, Lim Guozhi Benjamin, the sole owner of Polymath Wholesales Trading, was fined SG$8,000 (US$5,900) by the court for illegally importing meat products from Thailand.

In May 2023, inspectors from the Singapore Food Agency checked a refrigerated container vehicle. The officers found approximately 6.3 tons of meat products, such as chicken, duck and mutton, which the company imported without a valid permit.

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