Catering company Gourmetz charged over River Valley Primary gastroenteritis incident

SINGAPORE – Catering company Gourmetz is facing charges over its alleged involvement in an incident where 60 pupils from River Valley Primary School (RVPS) suffered from gastroenteritis after consuming their food.

The company was handed six charges for food safety offences committed under the Sale of Food Act on July 29.

In response to queries from The Straits Times, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) said it cannot comment as the case is currently before the courts.

According to court documents, the caterer was allegedly found to have stored sauce in a dirty blue thermal tub, which had accumulated stains on its exterior on Jan 16.

It had also purportedly stored raw marinated chicken on dirty trolleys, which had accumulated food stains, in the meat chiller room.

The company had also allegedly failed to ensure that its premises was properly maintained and kept clean.

Steam chicken rice sets and garlic fried rice sets produced by the caterer on Jan 16 were allegedly found to contain Bacillus cereus, a food-borne bacterium, at levels exceeding the permissible limit.

The caterer is also accused of putting false labels on bento sets on Jan 28, stating that the food was ready by 8.30am, when the meals were actually packed and ready earlier, at 6.48am.

Gourmetz also allegedly stored raw marinated chicken on dirty plastic pallets in a meat chiller room and stored frozen pastries uncovered in a raw material freezer.

Responding to queries from ST, the Ministry of Education (MOE) on July 30 said it is aware of court proceedings involving Gourmetz in relation to the gastroenteritis incident at RVPS.

“MOE has strengthened our oversight on Gourmetz and reinforced food safety requirements while ensuring that meal arrangements in schools served by Gourmetz remain uninterrupted,” the ministry said.

“The safety and well-being of students remain our utmost priority.

“MOE and schools will continue to keep a close watch on Gourmetz’s food safety performance and work with the operator to ensure strict compliance with the Singapore Food Agency’s food safety requirements.”

The ministry did not address questions from ST on why Gourmetz is providing food to schools despite facing charges and to which schools the company is now providing food.

In January, 60 pupils from RVPS were reported to have gastroenteritis symptoms after having lunch provided by the school’s central kitchen meal model operator.

The pupils had felt unwell after their lunch break on Jan 14 and reported having symptoms of gastroenteritis the following day.

MOE, SFA and the Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA) said in a joint statement in January that most of the affected children were back in school on Jan 16, except for four pupils, who needed more time to recover at home.

None of them was hospitalised.

Following the incident, the school worked with SFA and CDA to investigate the matter and determine the cause of the incident.

Thirteen schools had switched to a central kitchen meal model, where a single operator manages school canteens, in January 2026.

Other than RVPS, Gourmetz was appointed to cater food for CHIJ (Kellock), Radin Mas Primary, Blangah Rise Primary and Outram Secondary’s York Hill campus.

Circulars were sent to parents of at least two schools on July 29.

RVPS said in its circular that MOE has strengthened its oversight on Gourmetz and reinforced food safety requirements while ensuring that meal arrangements at the school remain uninterrupted.

The school had also informed parents at the start of Term 3 – which began on June 29 – that Gourmetz has moved its kitchen operations to a larger central kitchen under the Neo Group with effect from June 15, “allowing Gourmetz to operate more efficiently while maintaining good food hygiene”.

“Together with MOE, our school will continue to keep a close watch on Gourmetz’s food safety performance and work with the operator to ensure strict compliance with SFA’s food handling requirements,” RVPS said in the circular, adding that the safety and well-being of the students remain a priority.

Under Singapore’s food safety regulations, corporate entities which commit offences involving unsafe food that causes illness, harm and physical injury can be fined up to $50,000 for a first offence.

If a person’s food trading, food business or animal feed production licence is revoked, the person will be disqualified from holding that same licence for up to three years.

For failing to ensure that food is stored in a way that it is protected from contamination, an offender can be fined up to $5,000.

For a continuing offence, an offender can be further fined up to $100 for every day or part thereof during which the offence continues after a conviction.

Gourmetz’s case will be heard again in court on Aug 19.

Read Full Article At Source