Caterer fined after 170 fell sick in Singapore office of TikTok owner

A caterer in Singapore has been fined in relation to an outbreak which sickened more than 170 people.

Yun Hai Yao Pte was fined $7,000 (U.S. $5,500) by the court for food safety lapses under the Sale of Food Act and Environmental Public Health (Food Hygiene) Regulations.

In July 2024, the Ministry of Health (MOH) and Singapore Food Agency (SFA) received reports of gastroenteritis involving 171 individuals who had consumed food catered from Yun Hai Yao Pte, also known as Yun Nans. Sixty people were hospitalized.

The incident occurred at the office of technology company ByteDance, which is the owner of social media platform TikTok.

Local media said employees had eaten wok-fried diced chicken that contained high levels of Staphylococcus aureus. More than 200,000 colony forming units per gram (CFU/g) of Staphylococcus aureus was found in a sample taken by SFA. Regulations state that the limit in food is 100 CFU/g.

A joint inspection by SFA and MOH at the caterer’s premises at Northpoint City found several food safety issues. These included a cockroach infestation and dirty racks and peelers. Also, a food sample from Yun Hai Yao Pte collected during the investigation failed SFA’s safety tests.

SFA told the caterer to suspend their operations from July 31 to Aug. 16, 2024 to rectify the problems and to take measures to improve food safety practices and cleanliness of the premises.

Company apologizes in statement
In a statement after the verdict, the company said it had stopped its corporate catering business line in Singapore and closed the Northpoint City site.

“Following an internal investigation, we have come to a profound realization that the root cause of the incident lies in serious management negligence. This was the outlet’s first attempt at offering corporate catering services,” the company said in a prepared statement. “Unfortunately, we failed to properly assess the risks associated with launching a new business line. Our internal review revealed that the meal volume on that day had exceeded the outlet’s maximum single-meal production capacity, which became a major hidden danger.”

An internal investigation found basic hygiene protocols were inadequately followed. Temperature and time control during storage and delivery was insufficient, leading to microbial growth in the dishes, which ultimately caused the incident.

“We have engaged a professional third-party agency to conduct full-chain risk assessments, strengthening control across critical points such as ingredient traceability, hygiene protocols, food processing, temperature storage, and pest management to firmly prevent any recurrence of food safety risks. This incident has been a painful and sobering lesson for us,” the company said.

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