Man Fu Yuan Restaurant suspension to be lifted today after satisfying food safety standards

MAN FU YUAN RESTAURANT SUSPENSION TO BE LIFTED TODAY AFTER SATISFYING FOOD SAFETY STANDARDS
Investigations establish Norovirus Gastroenteritis as cause of outbreak

The National Environment Agency (NEA) will be lifting Man Fu Yuan’s suspension today as it is satisfied that food safety standards were met by the restaurant. This comes after the conclusion of joint investigations by the Ministry of Health (MOH) and NEA into the six outbreaks of Norovirus Gastroenteritis which occurred between 26 and 30 December 2012 at the InterContinental Singapore. The outbreaks affected a total 453 persons out of 1,590 guests. The NEA had suspended Man Fu Yuan restaurant – the common food source for the six incidents – from 3 January 2013.

Causes of outbreaks

2 The investigations have established the cause of the outbreak as Norovirus Gastroenteritis. Norovirus (commonly known as stomach flu) is a highly contagious pathogen It is the leading cause of gastroenteritis outbreaks worldwide. It can be transmitted by contaminated food and water, person-to-person contact and contact with environmental surfaces. In the case of Man Fu Yuan, eight out of 28 food handlers tested positive for Norovirus. Four of them had continued to work even though they exhibited symptoms such as diarrhea. NEA has warned the restaurant that their operations could be suspended again if follow-up checks by NEA find that sick food handlers are found to be engaging in food preparation.

Measures taken by restaurant

3 During the suspension period, the restaurant operator had carried out the following measures stipulated by NEA:
- Thorough cleaning and sanitising of the whole kitchen, utensils and equipment.
- Discarding all raw ingredients, condiments and sauces.
- Sending all food handlers to re-attend and pass the Basic Food Hygiene Course.
- Engaging a food safety consultant to review and enhance its existing food safety programme.

4 Key findings of the food safety review by the consultant showed that there was inadequate thorough cleaning of the Man Fu Yuan Restaurant kitchen area, work surfaces, drains and equipment. The restaurant has since formed a dedicated team to supervise the daily cleaning work by its outsourced cleaning company.

5 The consultant also found inadequate hand washing by chefs and food handlers. The hotel has since retrained all Man Fu Yuan Restaurant’s food handlers on proper hand washing and put in place daily audit checks on staff to ensure they wash their hands thoroughly with soap and water, especially after handling raw food, before handling cooked or ready-to-eat food, after visiting the toilet and after handling waste.

6 The restaurant has also tightened its supervisory regime to ensure that staff who are ill are not engaged in food preparation or food service and that its staff practise good food and personal hygiene at all times. The management is putting in place a system to require kitchen staff to declare their health condition daily before they are allowed to start work. Food handlers that were found to be infected have been suspended, and will not be allowed to work until MOH has given them a clean bill of health. All food handlers have since re-attended the Basic Food Hygiene training course, as instructed by NEA. As of 6 February 2013, four of the eight infected food handlers of Man Fu Yuan Restaurant have been cleared by MOH and are therefore allowed to work with the lifting of the suspension. The food handlers who were not infected are also allowed to return to work.

Keeping close checks on the hotel after reopening

7 NEA will conduct daily inspections at Man Fu Yuan Restaurant during the first week of the operations, and once a week thereafter. The restaurant will also be required to submit a daily audit report to NEA. This regime will continue for at least one month or until NEA is satisfied that the operator is practising good food safety and hygiene in their operations.

8 NEA is considering prosecution against the restaurant for contravening its regulations.

Public Advisory

9 MOH and NEA would like to remind the public that food poisoning can occur anywhere. Poor food preparation practices (e.g. using the same chopping board/knife for both raw and cooked food without washing between uses) and poor personal hygiene (e.g. not washing hands after using the toilet and before preparing food) can contribute to food poisoning even in the home.

10 For health related queries, members of the public can contact MOH at 1800-2254122. For feedback on any hygiene lapses, the public may contact NEA at the 24-hr hotline 1800-2255 632.

NATIONAL ENVIRONMENT AGENCY
MINISTRY OF HEALTH
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For media queries, please contact:

Ms Amalina Zulkefli
Senior Executive, Corporate Communications
National Environment Agency
DID: 6731 9867 / 9630 7675
Email: Nur_Amalina@nea.gov.sg

Ms Faye Shen
Manager, Media Relations
Ministry of Health
DID: 6325 9008 / 9650 4229
Email: faye_shen@moh.gov.sg