THE National Environment Agency (NEA) is beefing up cleanliness checks on all 109 hawker centres it manages here after an Indian rojak stall at a temporary market in Geylang Serai was linked to the worst case of mass food poisoning.
Three other temporary markets in Ang Mo Kio, Tekka and Queen Street - which are run by their own local management committees - have also been inspected after 154 people who had eaten food from Geylang's rojak stall fell ill last week.
The market re-opened on Friday after a two-day scrubdown, yet the shutters of the rojak stall remained firmly closed with no sign of the owner.
It was visited by the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, who had some harsh words on the food poisoning episode.
'What has happened is totally unacceptable. As far as I am concerned, it's outrageous that this has happened, and we must make sure it doesn't happen again,' he said, explaining that thousands of Singaporeans depended on hawker fare for their daily meals.
He promised the authorities will fully investigate the incident and hold those responsible accountable.
The tightening of checks on hawker centres is likely to spell more frequent dialogues with stall-owners and visits to their stalls and surrounding facilities like toilets. The pest control situation will also be further scrutinised for signs of rats and other possible infestations.
Officers currently run inspections on stalls every six to eight weeks.
The stepping up will ensure there are no hygiene lapses and maintain public confidence in hawker centres, said Dr Yaacob, who added that a 'sound regime' was in place but it will continue to be reviewed.
Read the full report in Saturday's edition of The Straits Times.
