Caterer involved in ByteDance mass food poisoning fined S$7,000 for selling contaminated food, cockroach infestation in kitchen

Catering company Yun Hai Yao was fined S$7,000 over the mass Bytedance food poisoning incident, after investigations found bacteria 2,000 times over the allowable limit in one of its catered dishes and a live cockroach infestation in its kitchen.

A total of 171 people reported gastroenteritis symptoms in the July 2024 incident, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) said in a Jul. 17 release.

All of them had consumed food catered by Yun Hai Yao's Northpoint City outlet.

The SFA prosecutor had asked for a S$5,500 fine for the caterer.

According to the prosecutor, 60 victims were hospitalised, of which 22 were warded for between one and three days.

Another 38 who were not warded were treated at the hospital and given medical leave, while the remaining 111 victims sought outpatient treatment or self-medicated.

Lu Zhi Tao, chief executive officer of Yun Hai Yao, appeared in court on Jul. 17 to receive the sentence on behalf of the company, according to CNA and The Straits Times.

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

Numerous food safety lapses: SFA

Based on court documents seen by Mothership, ByteDance catered food from Yun Hai Yao and another caterer at its One Raffles Quay office on Jul. 30, 2024.

ByteDance employees suffered from abdominal pain, diarrhoea and vomiting after consuming the catered lunch from Yun Hai Yao, and were conveyed to hospital en masse by ambulances.

Investigations found that the victims had eaten wok-fried diced chicken prepared by Yun Hai Yao that contained staphylococcus aureus bacteria exceeding what is allowed.

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

The other caterer was not involved in the gastroenteritis incident, SFA said.

The day after the food poisoning incident, more than 10 live cockroaches were found at the premises of Yun Hai Yao's Northpoint City outlet during a joint inspection by SFA and the Ministry of Health (MOH).

They were found beneath a folded grey plastic mat behind a rack, and the infested material was promptly disposed of by staff.

The inspection also turned up other food safety lapses, such as dirty racks and peelers, SFA said.

Following the inspection, over 200,000 colony-forming units per gram of Staphylococcus aureus counts were found in a sample of the chicken dish obtained by the SFA.

Food regulations state that fewer than 100 colony-forming units can be found in food.

Yun Hai Yao's Northpoint City outlet had its operations suspended from Jul. 31 to Aug. 16, 2024 in order to rectify the lapses and improve its food safety practices, SFA said.

The caterer was subsequently charged for selling contaminated food and for failing to keep its food preparation premises free of infestation.

It is Yun Hai Yao's first recorded offence under Singapore's food laws.

Sentencing

On Jul. 17, Lu told the court that Yun Hai Yao had permanently shut the Northpoint City outlet involved in the incident, CNA reported.

Lu added that Yun Hai Yao had implemented standard operating procedures to prevent similar incidents, and set up an internal team to check the quality of cooked food and ingredients at various outlets.

Regarding the sentencing, the judge explained that it must prioritise the protection of public interest.

She noted that some victims even required extensive medical treatment and hospitalisation.

Additionally, the judge highlighted that Yun Hai Yao did not readily offer an apology or compensation to the victims, and that its remedial steps taken were at SFA's direction.

When asked about compensation, Lu said Yun Hai Yao was in contact with ByteDance on the matter.

“We have an agreement that we will discuss this further upon the conclusion of this case," Lu said as quoted by ST.

The caterer was sentenced to a maximum S$7,000 fine on Jul. 17.

Yun Hai Yao's apology

After the verdict was handed down, Yun Hai Yao, posted an official apology statement to their Facebook page on Jul. 17.

The caterer said that following an internal investigation, it realised the root cause of the incident lay in "serious management negligence".

Yun Hai Yao said it was the North Point City outlet's first attempt at offering corporate catering services.

"Unfortunately, we failed to properly assess the risks associated with launching a new business line."

"Our internal review revealed that the meal volume on that day had exceeded the outlet's maximum single-meal production capacity, which became a major hidden danger."

While their raw ingredients were confirmed by SFA to meet food safety standards, Yun Hai Yao found that basic hygiene protocols were inadequately followed, cooking processes "failed to control single-batch quantities", and some dishes did not meet proper standards due to overloading.

The caterer added that due to insufficient temperature and time control during storage and delivery, this led to the growth of microbes in the dishes, which ultimately caused the food poisoning incident.

Yun Hai Yao has since terminated its corporate catering line in Singapore, and permanently closed its North Point City outlet.

All relevant employees have undergone mandatory retraining and re-certification, and will only resume their duties after obtaining approval from SFA.

The caterer has also engaged a third-party agency to conduct full-chain risk assessments and strengthen critical processes including ingredient traceability, hygiene protocols, food processing, temperature storage and pest management.

Additionally, the caterer noted that the incident was "a painful and sobering lesson for us".

"Going forward, we will remain steadfast and dedicated to our core responsibilitie , taking strong and decisive actions to safeguard food safety at every level."

"We sincerely urge the public and all stakeholders to continue holding us to high standards and maintaining close oversight."

Top image from Lianhe Zaobao/SFA