Chicken served in ByteDance food poisoning case allegedly had bacteria, caterer charged

The restaurant chain Yun Hai Yao has been charged in court over the mass food poisoning incident at the ByteDance Singapore office on Jul. 30, 2024.

Investigations by the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) previously concluded that the food poisoning was caused by food supplied to the office that day by two external vendors: Yun Hai Yao and Pu Tien Services.

169 people had gastroenteritis after eating the catered food, and 47 were taken to the hospital.

The charges & findings

Yun Hai Yao was charged with two offences under the Environmental Public Health (Food Hygiene) Regulations and the Sale of Food Act, The Straits Times reported.

An SFA prosecutor said the agency was seeking a total fine of S$5,000 for both charges.

According to court documents, a wok-fried diced chicken dish the company catered to the ByteDance office on Jul. 30 allegedly contained bacteria known as Staphylococcus aureus.

It can contaminate food during their preparation and handling, and cause food poisoning.

Yun Hai Yao, a large eatery chain from China, runs the Yun Nans chain of restaurants in Singapore.

The day after the food poisoning incident, on Jul. 31, more than 10 live cockroaches were found at the premises of its Northpoint City outlet, the court documents said.

They were discovered under a folded grey plastic mat behind a rack, CNA added.

According to ST, Yun Hai Yao’s chief executive Lu Zhi Tao appeared in court on behalf of the company.

He said the company intends to plead guilty and will not be engaging a lawyer.

The next mention is set for Jul. 2.

Top images from Kenneth Yong/Google and Lianhe Zaobao