Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Yaacob Ibrahim highlighted that operators have to be a registered society or a professional managing agent to 'ensure clearer accountability'. -- PHOTO: BH
FROM June 1, all operators of temporary markets or food centres will be licensed and held liable for hygiene lapses at the places, a move prompted by the Indian rojak poisoning cases last month.
The operator also has to be a registered society or a professional managing agent to 'ensure clearer accountability', said Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Yaacob Ibrahim.
Currently, only stallholders are licensed, not the operators of the specified food places.
The new requirement is among four measures the minister announced in Parliament on Thursday, when he replied to Non-Constituency MP Sylvia Lim.
Ms Lim had asked what changes had been made following the food poisoning cases in Geylang Serai temporary market.
Altogether, 154 people had fallen sick after eating Indian rojak from stall 320 at the market, and two of them died.
Replying, Dr Yaacob said the incident showed the 'need to strengthen our regime to uphold the high standards and to minimise the recurrence of such outbreaks'.
The other measures are: More frequent checks on stallholders and food centres by government inspectors, stiffer fines for bad food hygiene, and intensifying the education of food handlers and the public.
In announcing the changes, Dr Yaacob also admitted that the delay in issuing grading decals to the food stalls in Geylang Serai temporary market was a lapse on the part of the National Environment Agency (NEA).
The Indian rojak stall had displayed an earlier 'B' grade when NEA said it had been graded down to 'C'.
Read the full report in Friday's edition of The Straits Times.
