Suspected food poisoning alert (29/08/2025)

Regarding two suspected food poisoning clusters announced on 29 August, the Centre for Food Safety has conducted a preliminary investigation and has the following recommendations for food premises’ reference:

Food poisoning cases

The two clusters involved one male and three females aged between 26 and 33

Suspected incriminated food item

Taiwanese sauce chicken rice and shallot sauce chicken rice

Possible association

  • Preparing food too early in advance

  • Food stored at improper temperature
Advice
  • Cook food thoroughly (the core temperature of the food should reach at least 75°C for 30 seconds) and serve cooked food as soon as possible.

  • Pre-cooked food that will be used later should be stored at either above 60°C or 4°C or below.

  • Pre-cooked food subjected to cold storage should be cooled from 60°C to 20°C within 2 hours; and from 20°C to 4°C inside a chiller within the next 4 hours.

  • Reheat cooked food thoroughly till the core temperature reaches at least 75°C or bring it to a boil.

  • Plan the production schedule to avoid too early production before sale and prolonged storage of food at room temperature. Two rounds of preparation – one morning session and one afternoon session – are preferred in order to cater for the demand during lunch and dinner hours.

  • The management should provide training to food handlers so that they can fully understand the risk of cross-contamination in handling raw food and observe good personal hygiene (e.g. proper and frequent hand washing).

Further information

Food business can refer to Ready-to-eat Food ─ General HygieneAdvice for Food Businesses

Centre for Food Safety
29/08/2025