Aloha Poke maintains 'A' hygiene rating after dead spider found in raw fish salad

Earlier this month, Facebook user Siew Ping discovered a large dead spider in her salmon poke bowl and wrote about her "amazing spiderman" experience in a post, which quickly went viral. PHOTO: FACEBOOK/SIEW PING

SINGAPORE - Raw fish salad bar Aloha Poke has maintained an "A" hygiene rating for its Katong kitchen following recent inspections by the authorities, two weeks after a customer found a dead spider in her poke bowl order.

On May 10, Facebook user Siew Ping discovered a large dead spider in her salmon poke bowl and wrote about her "amazing spiderman" experience in a post, which quickly went viral.

She had ordered a Standard Nalu salmon bowl, comprising two scoops of marinated or seasoned raw fish, via food delivery service Deliveroo.

But while eating, she found a spider that was "limp and soaked with sauce", at the base of her salad bowl.

Mr John Chen, a co-founder of the home-grown eatery, apologised and voluntarily closed the Katong kitchen where the Deliveroo order was prepared for two days for thorough investigation and cleaning.

In an update last Thursday, Mr Chen said: "We are pleased to announce that the NEA (National Environment Agency) has completed a thorough inspection of our kitchen @ Deliveroo Editions Katong."

He added: "No lapses were found in our practices and procedures, and we continue to maintain an 'A', the highest rating possible for hygiene and cleanliness."

A day after Aloha Poke's update, Siew Ping said on her Facebook post that NEA had inspected the kitchen on May 15 and found that the food items were segregated and stored appropriately to prevent contamination.

Mr Chen said that with this incident behind them, Aloha Poke will be going one step further to engage independent hygiene auditors and conduct monthly pest control to ensure that it has the highest food quality standards.

Aloha Poke became Singapore's first poke shop, selling the popular Hawaiian streetside staple, after opening its Amoy Street outlet in 2015.

It currently has seven outlets, with another one opening soon at Takashimaya Shopping Centre.

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