However, Mr Tan said existing workers shoulder more workload if their employers are unable to find more workers, which increases the risk of mistakes, added Mr Tan.
His consultancy firm Advanced Consultancy has seen a 30 per cent rise in requests from clients to audit their kitchens this year so far, compared with previous years.
“A lot of companies are getting more proactive, because they feel that prevention is always better than cure,” Mr Tan added.
These mock audits can come in the form of a surprise check, which Mr Tan said most of their clients – which include food manufacturers, restaurants and caterers – prefer.
“Most of these premises would have food handlers who have already gone through all these basic food hygiene courses, but sometimes they might be blind to certain spots within the premises,” he noted.
“So our job is to help them identify what are the missing pieces and what are the spots that are not visible to them, and then we point it out to them, and then tell them how to improve.”
The Singapore Food Agency also said that beyond regular inspections, it conducts “targeted operations based on data analytics which identify licensees with poor track records, those with a history of foodborne outbreaks or those flagged by public feedback”.
During such inspections, the agency looks out for pest infestations, proper separation of raw and cooked food, and whether food appliances are kept clean, among other things.
