A chicken rice hawker in Singapore is lamenting that customers who patronise the stall are not following instructions to keep the chili sauce container lid closed after helping themselves to the condiment.

This was despite putting up reminder notices in both English and Chinese to get customers to help keep the lid closed as part of good hygiene practices and to not get the stall in trouble, Shin Min Daily News reported.

The worry is that foreign objects or insects might end up in the sauce that customers help themselves to, which would lead to a food safety issue implicating the hawker.

What sign said

"Protect your favourite chilli," the handwritten sign in English read. "Close lid after use, please. Thank you."

The female stall owner of Far East Chicken Rice told the Chinese media that she even went to some lengths to get the signs up.

"As I am not proficient in English, I had to find someone to help with the translation for the reminder so that all customers will be able to read it," she said.

"If there is anything wrong with the condiments, it will be our fault."

The stall is located at Ubi Avenue 1.

Other hawkers empathise

Other chicken rice stall owners interviewed said they empathised with this stall owner's concerns.

Although the odds of finding flies or other insects in the sauces and condiments are not high, it can still happen, and the consequences will not be ideal, another chicken rice hawker explained.

The other chicken rice seller interviewed added that checks will be carried out on all the condiments to ensure there are no foreign objects in them, and the duty to do so rests on stallholders.

Top photos via Shin Min Daily News & Google Maps