SINGAPORE, Feb 20 — Some students at Singapore’s School of the Arts (Sota) have fallen ill after consuming ready-to-eat (RTE) meals distributed as part of Total Defence activities.
On February 19, Sota said it had received feedback that some students became unwell after eating the meals and that the school is working with the relevant authorities to investigate the matter.
As a precaution, students with unconsumed RTE meals have been asked to return them, according to an e-mail sent to parents by Sota’s vice-principal Ann Tan.
Tan also advised students who felt unwell after consuming the meals to seek medical attention.
The meals were provided as part of Sota’s food resilience preparedness programme on February 18.
In a joint statement, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA), Ministry of Education (MOE), Ministry of Health, and food solutions provider Sats, which produced the meals, confirmed they are investigating the cases of gastroenteritis reported by Sota students.
As of February 19, 20 students — about 1 per cent of those who ate the meals — reported symptoms.
One student, who wished to be known only as Lim, 16, said she experienced diarrhoea on February 19 after consuming two boxes of chicken bolognese pasta the previous day.
Another student, who also declined to be named, said she ate a box of curry chicken briyani on the morning of February 18 and developed a stomach ache hours later.
“I went to the toilet three times in the span of 2½ hours,” she said.
However, some students who ate the RTE meals reported no ill effects.
A 16-year-old student, who identified himself only as Chia, told The Straits Times he felt fine after eating a box of sweet spicy tomato fish with basmati rice.
SFA and MOE said they are working with participating schools to implement precautionary measures, including replacing RTE meals from the same batch.
They added that based on preliminary findings, the cases appear to be an isolated incident at Sota, with no reports of similar issues at other participating venues.
Authorities also reiterated the importance of food safety, advising students and staff to check for signs of compromised packaging or food deterioration and to maintain good personal hygiene, such as washing hands thoroughly before eating.
The RTE meals were a new product developed by Sats for public consumption during national emergencies.
The halal-certified meals, which include curry chicken with briyani rice, fish porridge with sweet potato and pumpkin, and vegetable marinara pasta, were produced using sterilisation techniques similar to those used for Singapore Armed Forces combat rations.
As part of Exercise SG Ready, a national preparedness initiative, 150,000 of these meals are being distributed to schools and active ageing facilities across Singapore between February 15 and 28.
The 2025 edition of the exercise focuses on food resilience amid simulated power outages, involving more than 100,000 students and teachers from over 90 schools and three ITE colleges, as well as around 8,000 senior citizens.
Sats stated that the RTE meals were stored in sealed, leak-tested packaging and kept at room temperature in cool, shaded conditions before distribution.
