187 reported cases of gastroenteritis due to Total Defence Day Ready-to-Eat meals

A total of 187 gastroenteritis cases were reported following the consumption of ready-to-eat meals (RTE) as part of the Food Resilience Preparedness Programme (FRPP).

Of the 187 cases, 184 were from schools, two were from Active Ageing Centres and one from a public agency, joint investigations by the Ministry of Health (MHA) and the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) revealed.

All affected individuals received the necessary medical attention and have since recovered, said Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu during the Mar. 4 parliament sitting.

Joint investigations by MOH and SFA are ongoing.

0.16 per cent of participants

Fu shared that over 100,000 of these meals were distributed to secondary schools, pre-universities, Institutes of Technical Education, public agencies, and Active Ageing Centres as part of Total Defence Day 2025.

The distribution of the food was initially scheduled to take place from Feb. 15 to Feb. 28.

However, on Feb. 19, 20 students from the School of the Arts (SOTA) displayed symptoms of gastroenteritis.

On Feb. 20, SFA, the Ministry of Education (MOE), Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) and food caterer SATS paused the programme.

As of Mar. 3, the number of reported cases of gastroenteritis constituted about 0.16 percent of the number of participants.

None of the cases were hospitalised and all affected individuals have since recovered.

SFA also collected samples of the meals for testing and no foodborne pathogens were found.

Fu added that SFA and MOH are conducting a comprehensive investigation of the incident and SFA will take the necessary enforcement actions if any lapses are detected.

SATS' premises found to be clean

Fu said SFA inspected SATS' premises on Jan. 23, before FRPP started.

The premises were found to be clean and no food safety violations were detected.

SATS also had additional measures in place for the programme, including individually testing each meal for leaks and conducting sample microbiological testing at an SFA-accredited laboratory to ensure food safety.

"SFA will conduct an After-Action-Review to draw and learn from the lessons of this episode. SFA will continue to engage stakeholders, including schools, food businesses and community partners on our FRPP," Foo said.

Lesson learnt

In a follow-up question, Workers' Party (WP) member of parliament Dennis Tan asked how long would the investigation take.

Fu said the authorities are working as quickly as they can.

"The RTE meals are actually isolated and controlled, so we don't see that going into the public. So there's no urgency from a food safety point of view. The packages are all collected, so we are not continuing the programme for the time being," Fu said.

She added that they would do their best to study quickly, but more importantly, to prepare for the next programme.

"We have to learn and take positive lessons from this programme. How do we get Singapore to be ready, to be resilient to disruption? And the disruption is not just in food supply," Fu said.

"What if we lack the facilities to cook food? How can we continue to provide nutritious food to the population in large numbers and in a way that is palatable to the population?"

She added: "This is not, in no means, a small undertaking. We will have to learn from this lesson. We are expected to learn from it and be better."

Top photos via Canva & SFA/Facebook