10 Facts About the Spize Food Poisoning That Has Since Taken a Person’s Life


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Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you should have heard all about the food poisoning incident at Spize restaurant.

While we had experienced a few panic scares over some appalling food handling methods over the years, nothing comes as close as this one.

Here are ten facts about this incident.

About Spize

Image: spize.sg

Spize is a restaurant chain opened by brothers Mr Anil Sabnani and Mr Haresh Sabnani. It was established in 1997 and offers a jam-packed menu. Currently, Spize has 4 outlets at Bedok, River Valley, Rifle Range and Siglap.

According to The Straits Times, Spize has become a distinguished “supper landmark–the sort that taxi drivers know how to get to without needing an address”.

What Happened

On 9 November 2018, Spize outlet at River Valley Road had been suspended for an unspecified time period. How did this come about?

Well, 72 people fell sick with gastroenteritis after consuming food from the restaurant. 39 have been discharged from the hospital, and 9 are still in hospital but are in stable condition.

What is gastroenteritis?

We all have diarrhea after consuming some bad food, but how serious can the food poisoning go up to?

Gastroenteritis is when the stomach and intestines are inflamed due to a viral or bacterial infection. That’s to say, it’s the common food poisoning we might have before, and it usually clears by itself after a week or so.

It has since killed one

A 38-year-old man, Mr Fadli Salleh, fell sick after consuming food from Spize.

The SATS Singapore officer, who had been with the company for 15 years, was warded in the intensive care unit (ICU) of Sengkang General Hospital.

On 6 November 2018, Mr Fadli ate a bento box catered from Spize for Deepavali celebrations. Spize catered a total of 88 bento boxes for the event.

He passed away yesterday (14 November 2018).

About Mr Fadli Salleh

Mr Fadli Salleh is an SATS officer that’s deployed to security company Brink’s Singapore.

Brink’s Singapore has this to say about the man: “He was a loyal colleague with a strong work ethic and dedication to serving our customers and his colleagues. We will miss him.”

He leaves behind his wife and two young children.


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Only One Location?

Mr Haresh Sabnani stated that of 221 bento sets delivered to six locations on Nov 6, only one location was affected.

Hygiene Lapses

An inspection of the premises revealed several unhygienic practices such as leaving ready-to-eat food were uncovered in a chiller and a faulty soap dispenser (which meant that there was no soap available for hand-washing).

Rectification

The Spize outlet had been directed to get rid of all ready-to-eat food, thawed food and perishable food items. It was also required to carry out a “thorough cleaning and sanitizing” of its premises.

The 25 employees at the River Valley outlet are assisting in the cleaning operation of the restaurant. None of them has been re-deployed to Spize’s other outlets at Bedok, Rifle Range Road and Siglap. This is to reduce the chances of any potential outbreak.

Spize’s Response to Victim’s Family & Public

Mr Haresh Sabnani said that the company was “extremely saddened” by Mr Fadli’s passing. He had also reached out to Mr Fadli but was advised by SKH to respect the family’s privacy.


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In addition, Mr Haresh emphasized that Spize will “provide all help and assistance that is needed to the family during this difficult time”.

In addition, they have posted this on Facebook:

Worst food poisoning case occurred in 2009

in 2009, an Indian rojak stall caused one of the worst food poisoning episodes in Singapore: more than 150 people fell ill and 37 people were hospitalized. Two people died soon after, and it was later revealed that there were bacterium from raw food in the stall’s food.

The owner, Mr Sheilk Sheik Allaudin Mohideen, then 70, was slapped with the maximum fine of $9,000 and had his licence suspended. There was also a two-day clean-up of the entire market.

His wife and two sons would later set up a new stall in the same market.


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