SINGAPORE, Dec 1 — The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) has identified catered food as the cause of a mass food poisoning incident at TikTok owner ByteDance’s Singapore office, where 130 people fell ill and 57 were hospitalised on July 30.
Describing it as “one of the more serious food poisoning cases in recent years,” SFA stated it would "take appropriate enforcement actions" against the parties responsible but did not specify the measures or name those involved, as reported by media outlet Channel News Asia (CNA).
SFA said two caterers, Yun Hai Yao and Pu Tien Services, were directed to dispose of all prepared food following the outbreak.
Their operations at Yun Hai Yao’s Northpoint City restaurant and Pu Tien’s Senoko catering kitchen were suspended on July 31, it added, but reinstated on August 10 and 16, respectively, after compliance with food safety measures.
Pu Tien retained some inventory after receiving SFA’s exemption, as further testing showed no food safety concerns.
SFA also required both caterers to conduct cleaning, sanitisation, and staff retraining to meet food hygiene standards.
Pu Tien also sent food samples from the day of the incident for third-party testing, which confirmed the absence of listeria and salmonella.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) and SFA reported gastroenteritis symptoms among ByteDance staff who had consumed food at the 26th-floor canteen.
ByteDance clarified that the food was supplied by licensed vendors and not prepared on-site.
Under Singapore’s food hygiene laws, offenders face fines of up to S$2,000 (RM6,637), with additional penalties for continuing violations.
ByteDance is a global tech giant and parent company of TikTok. Its Singapore office serves as a regional hub for its operations in South-east Asia, focusing on business development, content moderation, and marketing.
