Another Mass Food Poisoning, This Time in 2 Welfare Homes With Over 59 Cases

By
Andrea Tan
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Agents of bad hygiene are definitely on a roll here.

There were a series of food poisoning incidents end of last year but we don’t even have to reach that far.

This year alone, we have had a few large-scale runs in various institutions already: in March, Sparkletots; in April, Zhenghua Primary School.

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Well, guess what, we’re deep into a new month so here are another two institutions to join the ranks before May is up.

How has this become a pattern?

Is it the doings of toilet paper manufacturers?

Food Poisoning in Angsana Home and Banyan Home

The two welfare homes are under Pelangi Village, along with four other centres.

Angsana Home and Banyan Home are the only two homes in Pelangi Village hit by this bout with 22 cases from Angsana Home and 37 from Banyan Home as of Monday, 20 May 2019.

That adds up to a total of 59 people exhibiting symptoms of gastroenteritis, and 11 had to be hospitalised and are reported to be in a stable condition.

Source of the Food

Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) reported that the affected consumed food from in-house kitchen of the homes.

Two kitchens producing contaminated food at the same time? No, the food comes solely from the Banyan Home kitchen, and is prepared there before being sent over, as an Angsana Home resident elaborated.

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According to a staff member at a welfare home, the other four homes “outsource their meal preparation to external food contractors”, which explains why they aren’t affected.

Well, at least for the first time, it’s not the caterers’ fault.

Word of the Year: Gastroenteritis

Credit: Step To Health

As with many of our food poisoning pieces, this term will surface somewhere within the article, and then we will dedicate a little section to it. We’re going to keep doing it because it’s obviously still relevant, and because I need to hit my word limit.

Firstly, we’re using the term gastroenteritis because proper news articles like to use it, being the scientific name for inflammation of the stomach and intestines.

Secondly, it seems that a lot of people just define gastroenteritis as gastric flu or food poisoning and then barrel on like it’s the same thing. It’s not, by the way, although the statement remains perfectly factual, while misleading.

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Gastroenteritis can indeed refer to both gastric flu and food poisoning, so that’s the factual part, but gastric flu and food poisoning are still different so your general knowledge and personal experience are certainly accurate.

Food poisoning is gastroenteritis contracted via contaminated food while viral gastroenteritis refers specifically to gastric flu. As a result the pathogen involved is different as well, norovirus is the most common virus involved in gastric flu, with E. coli and Salmonella typically responsible for food poisoning.

The symptoms of each are slightly different as well though they both involve the infection of your gastrointestinal tract, and you’ll probably have anecdotal experience to back that up.

We will end the nerdy discussion here. Back to food poisoning in Singapore…

Maintain Good Hygiene

There’s nothing we can do to stop people poisoning our food but we can maintain good hygiene and food preparatory habits so we don’t help to propagate an outbreak.

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That includes sterilising everything- hands, vegetables, meat, tables and clothing by washing, cooking, disinfecting etc.

So go out there and cook your hands and disinfect your meat for a healthy 2019 ahead!

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Andrea Tan
Email: [email protected]