Number of people hospitalised after eating food from Spize rises to 46

SINGAPORE - The number of people hospitalised after eating food from Spize has more than doubled since the news broke last Friday (Nov 9).

As of noon on Tuesday, 69 people have been affected, with 46 of them having been hospitalised.

It was previously reported that 49 people were affected with 21 hospitalised.

In a statement to The New Paper on Tuesday, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said 26 of those hospitalised have been discharged. It added that one person remains in the intensive care unit (ICU) while the others are recovering.

TNP reported on Tuesday that a Sats Singapore officer, who is in the ICU, is in a critical condition with his lungs and kidneys affected.

The Spize outlet at 409 River Valley Road had supplied 88 bento sets to Brink's Singapore for Deepavali celebrations on Nov 6.

The Sats officer ate the catered food as he was deployed to Brink's Singapore at the time.

A joint statement by the National Environment Agency (NEA), MOH and Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority last Friday said the authorities were notified of the cases on Nov 7 and they conducted a joint investigation that day.​

The statement added that they were investigating several cases of gastroenteritis traced to the consumption of food prepared at the restaurant.

"Several hygiene lapses were observed, including leaving ready-to-eat food uncovered in a chiller, not providing soap for hand washing (soap dispenser was faulty) and slotting knives for preparing ready-to-eat food in the gap between the food preparation tables," said the statement.

The outlet's licence was then suspended and will remain so until NEA is satisfied that the public health risks have been addressed.

Numerous attempts by TNP to contact Mr Haresh Sabnani, 41, the co-owner of Spize, have been unsuccessful.

This article was first published in The New Paper. Permission required for reproduction.