Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on the Inspection of Dormitories Providing Catered Food by Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment

Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on the Inspection of Dormitories Providing Catered Food by Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment for each year in the past five years, how many inspections has the Ministry conducted to ensure that workers living in dormitories consume catered food not more than four hours from the time it was cooked at the caterer’s kitchen.

Answer:

1 The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) requires all food catered from licensed caterers to bear a time-stamp that indicates the date and time by which the food should be consumed. Under the Foreign Employee Dormitories Act (FEDA), dormitory operators licensed by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) must ensure that catered food is procured from licensed caterers and take reasonable measures to ensure that food delivered is protected from contamination until it is collected by the workers.

2 MOM conducts inspections on licensed dormitories for FEDA compliance at least once per year. Any FEDA related lapses identified during the inspections are expected to be rectified immediately. Workers with food-related issues can approach MOM’s Forward Assurance and Support Team (FAST) officers or report the issues via FWMOMCare mobile application. Food safety issues that are specific to licensed caterers will be further investigated by SFA.