MPs also asked if microbiological and shelf-life studies were required by SFA under the FRPP and whether there are plans to introduce more stringent checks or audits.
Ms Fu said that SATS, like all SFA-licensed establishments, is required to comply with food safety requirements and subjected to food safety inspections.
They have to ensure that food preparation areas and workflows are set up in a way that prevents cross-contamination between raw and cooked food.
There should also be systems to ensure cleanliness and prevent pest infestation. Food workers have to be certified with food safety training.
Ms Fu agreed with MPs that the government needs to restore public confidence in the RTE meals, but said that it is too early to state the steps to take as the investigation is ongoing.
“SFA will conduct an after action review to draw and learn from the lessons of this episode. SFA will continue to engage stakeholders, including schools, food businesses and community partners on our FRPP,” she said.
On further questioning from MPs about food safety testing and the current investigations, Ms Fu said that it is important to learn from this incident so that the FRPP programme can “evolve” to be more robust than before.
“I think that we are working as quickly as we can. In the meantime, we have suspended this programme,” she said.
“We have to learn and take positive lessons from this programme. How do we get Singapore to be ready to be resilient to disruption … What if we lack the facilities to cook food? How can we continue to provide nutritious food to the population in large numbers and in a way that is palatable to the population? This is not, in no means, a small undertaking.”
