Man chews on metal wire in fried rice from Tiong Bahru stall, calls it 'serious health hazard'

Halfway through his lunch, a diner was horrified to find a foreign object in his fried rice.

The anonymous patron told Stomp that he purchased a plate of fried rice for $4.50 from Muhammad Shazain Faiha Muslim Food Paradise stall at Tiong Bahru Food Centre last Friday (April 28).

Not noticing anything amiss, he tucked into his meal and only discovered a piece of metal wire — which appears to be from a steel scrubber — mid-bite.

"I actually chewed my food and spat it out after realising what it was," he said.

The diner also warned that the metal wire could be "a serious health hazard for consumers who are not careful when eating their food and accidentally swallow it, especially the elderly and young children."

He did not inform the stall of his discovery as he was in a hurry to leave, but said he hopes this incident will urge food handlers and cooks to be more careful when preparing meals.

Back in March, a woman was shocked to find a metal screw in her daughter's Jollibee spaghetti.

"You cannot imagine the horror any parent would feel knowing that I could have mistakenly fed my daughter a piece of screw for dinner," she wrote on Instagram Story. 

She decided to lodge a complaint with the fast food chain so that it could investigate the matter.

According to the Singapore Food Agency (SFA), there must be no sale of food that contains any matter foreign to the nature of the food under the Environmental Public Health (Food Hygiene) Regulations.

Responding to media queries on another similar incident, a spokesman for SFA said while regular inspections of food retail establishments are conducted and regulatory measures are enforced, food operators must also "play their part by adhering to good food hygiene and preparation practices".

The agency added that members of the public who come across such incidents should report to SFA via the online feedback form, and it will not hesitate to take enforcement action if necessary.

lim.kewei@asiaone.com

ALSO READ: Fly eggs on kimchi? It's part of cabbage root, says Yishun restaurant after diner's complaint