Update (7.59pm): Article updated with Itacho and SFA's statement.

A Singaporean man, Marc Wong, alleged that his wife contracted salmonella, a bacterial disease which affects the intestinal tract, after eating uncooked food from the Itacho Sushi outlet at Jewel Changi Airport.

The man shared his wife's ordeal in a Facebook post on Dec. 24, 2019, which garnered more than 1,800 shares.

In case you cannot see the post:

Diagnosed with salmonella

According to his Facebook post, the two went to Itacho Sushi at Jewel Changi Airport on Dec. 13.

The next day, his wife started experiencing a fever and a stomachache, but chose to self-medicate instead of going to a doctor.

However, as the symptoms persisted until the morning of Dec. 15, she went to a general practitioner, where she received an injection and medication.

Her symptoms did not cease, and her temperature allegedly rose. That same night, she was admitted to Mount Alvernia Hospital.

The doctor diagnosed her with salmonella, and confirmed that it was caused by consumption of uncooked meat or seafood.

Wong claimed that the only uncooked food that his wife ate was from Itacho Sushi, and that she did not eat any uncooked meat or seafood before or after their dinner.

Allegedly received a reply from Itacho Sushi.

He reportedly contacted Itacho Sushi, but they allegedly said that it "may not be our fault as it was only once case, and we won't be responsible for it".

Wong also said that his wife experienced very bad stomach cramps for three days after being admitted into hospital, and that she could not sleep, eat or do anything else apart from rest in bed.

Made a report to SFA

Wong said that he has filed a report to the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) about the incident, but they were not able to provide him with all the information he asked for about the case.

They reportedly said that the Itacho Sushi outlet failed certain criteria, but did not elaborate on it.

Wong also said that the SFA told him that they would take action against Itacho Sushi at Jewel Changi Airport, but it is not clear what actions would be taken.

On Wong's Facebook post, he also said that he found two similar incidents online, one of which happened in the same outlet at Jewel Changi Airport, while the other occurred at Itacho Sushi Ion Orchard.

Wong advised people to order cooked food instead

Wong ended his Facebook post by advising the public not to visit Itacho Sushi's various outlets, at least until investigations have been conducted and reassurance has been given that such an incident would not happen again.

He also added that if you do visit Itacho Sushi, it would be best to order the cooked food items instead.

Itacho replied to the man's allegations on 5.31pm.

"It is unfortunate that Mr. Wong chose to widely publish his complaint on Facebook even before the results of the lab testing were completed, and this had caused unnecessary stress to our hard-working staff and our loyal customers. In his complaint, he even urged our customers to stay away from our outlets."

They also claimed the man and his wife had demanded compensation for his pre-holiday expenditures.

"We, however, refused to bow to his demand for compensation towards his pre-holiday expenditures and told him to wait until the SFA results were out."

Here is SFA's statement in response to Mothership's queries.

"SFA received feedback on an alleged food poisoning incident at Itacho Sushi in Jewel Changi. We inspected the outlet on 18 Dec 2019 and food samples were taken for testing. Salmonella was not detected in the samples.

However, during our inspection, we found that one food handler was not registered[1]. SFA will be taking enforcement action against the operator for this lapse.

Food operators are reminded to adhere to good food hygiene and preparation practices.

SFA conducts regular inspections of food retail establishments to ensure compliance with hygiene standards, and will not hesitate to take enforcement action if necessary.

Members of the public who come across any errant food operator should report to SFA via the online feedback form (https://csp.sfa.gov.sg/feedback) or call our Contact Centre at 68052871."'

Top image from Itacho Sushi and Marc Wong's Facebook page.