SFA Suspends Yun Nans Northpoint Outlet & Pu Tien Services Over ByteDance Food Poisoning Case

The catering services behind the 30 July mass food poisoning incident at Singapore’s ByteDance office have been identified.

That day saw a nightmare scenario at the office of the TikTok owner. The Chinese food served at the canteen and eaten by the employees ended up causing severe issues.

The employees experienced pain with violent vomiting and completely packed toilets from diarrhoea.

You can find out more in this article.

SFA Suspends 2 Caterers Over ByteDance Food Poisoning Incident

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) had to send 17 ambulances to the ByteDance office, alongside setting up a temporary first aid centre there. Photos of the scene also showed firefighters and fire engines present.

According to the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) and Ministry of Health (MOH) joint statement, 130 people were affected, suffering symptoms of gastroenteritis.

57 people were conveyed to the hospital, with 17 remaining hospitalised.

On 31 July, SFA suspended the food operations of two catering businesses linked to the ByteDance food poisoning incident: Yun Hai Yao Pte Ltd, and Pu Tien Services at Senoko South Road.

Both caterers must dispose of all ready-to-eat and perishable foods, and clean and sanitise their premises, including all equipment and utensils.

The SFA also requires all food handlers to pass the Food Safety Course Level 1 and test negative for foodborne pathogens before they can resume work.

Additionally, the Food Hygiene Officer has to re-attend and pass the Food Safety Course Level 3.

The SFA highlighted the importance of food operators observing good hygiene and warned of “firm action” against anyone violating the Environmental Public Health Act.

The SFA encouraged members of the public who encounter bad food hygiene practices to report the outlets through their online feedback form.

Yun Nans Northpoint City Outlet & Pu Tien Services to Close Temporarily

Yun Hai Yao runs the Yun Nans restaurant chain, though only the Northpoint City outlet was suspended.

According to Lianhe Zaobao, SFA officers were seen investigating the Yun Nans outlet at 11 am on 31 July, questioning the staff and taking food samples for investigation.

Tommy Loh, CEO of Yun Nans, claimed that the staff at the restaurant ate the same set of dishes on 30 July without ill effect.

He also stated that Yun Hai Yao had been supplying food to ByteDance for a month with no issues and that those with gastroenteritis did not only eat food solely catered by them.

A Putien spokesperson told Lianhe Zaobao that they were suspending their catering kitchen at 2 Senoko South Road, awaiting the results of the investigation.

All Putien restaurants in Singapore will continue to operate.

While mass food poisoning cases in Singapore are not unheard of, the number of 130 affected in the ByteDance case is close to the highest.

In 2023, 30 people contracted food poisoning at a wedding banquet, while 151 people reported gastroenteritis symptoms from the International French School cafeteria in 2021.

Maybe that’s just how French cuisine is.

You can learn more about food poisoning in catering in this video: