{
  "id": 13350817,
  "title": "Caterer Gourmetz fined S$13,000 after giving 45 River Valley Primary students gastroenteritis",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/caterer-gourmetz-fined-s-13-000-after-giving-45-river-valley-primary",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-09T18:45:02.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Mothership",
    "slug": "mothership",
    "url": "https://mothership.sg/2026/10/caterer-gourmetz-fined-river-valley-gastroenteritis/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Catering company Gourmetz has been fined S$13,000 for food safety violations following a gastroenteritis outbreak at River Valley Primary School in January 2026. The incident affected 45 students, one of whom was hospitalized and subsequently recovered. The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) and Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA) conducted joint inspections at Gourmetz's premises on January 16 and January 28, 2026, identifying multiple food safety lapses. During the initial inspection, the chiller rooms were found to be dirty and poorly maintained, with damaged rubber gaskets and dirty racks. Some food items were stored in unsanitary ways, leading to potential contamination. The Marinated chicken in the processed vegetable chiller room and two ready-to-eat sets (steam chicken rice and garlic fried rice) contained Bacillus cereus, a bacteria known to cause food poisoning. The follow-up inspection revealed further violations, including uncovered frozen pastries, raw marinated chicken stored on dirty plastic pallets and trolleys, and bento meal sets with false labeling. Gourmetz pleaded guilty to three charges, including failing to maintain a clean establishment, false food labeling, and inadequate food storage protection. The company was fined S$13,000 and paid the fine on the same day.",
  "summary": "Food in the company's premises was stored in dirty containers and trolleys.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}