Coronavirus: Hong Kong caterer who supplied Penny’s Bay quarantine facility could face prosecution over allegedly tainted food
- The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department says it found unclean food and items stored at improper temperatures during a check of Danny Catering Service’s facility
- It also says it confirmed one food sample to be contaminated with bacteria known to cause food poisoning
A Hong Kong caterer who supplied a government quarantine facility could face prosecution after health authorities confirmed a sample of one of their meals was tainted with bacteria following multiple complaints of food poisoning from people who had been isolated there.
The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department told the Post on Thursday that it was considering pursuing legal action against Danny Catering Service Ltd – which provided food for the Penny’s Bay Quarantine Centre on Lantau Island – over its allegedly poor food hygiene standards.
Staff from the department found unclean food and items stored at improper temperatures when they inspected the company’s production facility on May 7. The person in charge of the plant had corrected the problems by May 10, a department spokesman added.
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Laboratory tests, meanwhile, found one food sample was contaminated with Bacillus cereus, which could cause food poisoning, vomiting and diarrhoea.
Images purporting to show the meals supplied at the facility featured greyish meat patties studded with yellow corn kernels and mouldy oranges for dessert.
A Department of Health spokesman said on Thursday that the catering service was no longer the food contractor at Penny’s Bay.
The department also confirmed that of the 45 people who fell ill at Penny’s Bay, five were sent to hospital and had since been discharged. However, the department stopped short of attributing the illness to food poisoning.
One previously quarantined resident from the Caribbean Coast housing estate in Tung Chung, who spoke on condition of anonymity, described the food at Penny’s Bay as “simply dire”, and added that poor Wi-fi and cell reception at the camp added to their “misery”.
The resident also claimed to have suffered from food poisoning while there.
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Cup noodles were served to quarantined residents after the food-poisoning symptoms began to emerge.
“We will review all these complaints and grievances with a view to improving the arrangements,” Lam said.