Asian stir-fry restaurant chain WOK HEY is under scrutiny by the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) after a customer reported seeing insects crawling over its several cleaning brushes.
In a report by The Straits Times, a lady walking into Compass One shopping mall on Monday morning, April 17, saw the dirty brushes at the Wok Hey takeout food kiosk.
A minimum of three insects can be seen in the video she uploaded to the citizen journalism website Stomp, and they seem to be crawling across the brush used to clean the wok after each order.
"It made my hair stand on end. No more Wok Hey for me. My kids really love Wok Hey too, but I guess they will stop eating it after watching this video," she told Stomp.
Wok Hey vs. Food Agency
Wok Hey, in response to questions from The Straits Times, claimed that the company's own investigations had shown that the cleaning contractors it had hired had not thoroughly cleaned the brushes.
"We take all hygiene matters at our outlets seriously. We engage a professional cleaning company to deep clean and sanitize our outlets after operating hours on a daily basis," said the firm's spokesman.
Wok Hey elaborated that before each outlet opens for business, extra inspections are performed, as well as an additional cycle of cleaning the kitchen equipment and utensils, including the brushes.
The representative said they are working closely with their cleaning contractor to ensure legal criteria are being fulfilled. It is said that Wok Hey would adjust its procedures to make sure this does not happen again.
SFA guaranteed that an inquiry into the case is underway and that the agency would not hesitate to take enforcement measures against dishonest food handlers.
The agency emphasized how maintaining a secure food supply is a collaborative effort. It said that while SFA establishes and enforces the regulatory standards, it is the responsibility of the food service industry to uphold them via proper sanitation and cooking procedures.
Earlier Instances of the Same Problem
Notably, the Bedok branches of the famous Singapore restaurant Spize had their food hygiene standards reduced from "A" to "C" in March after a food poisoning incident in 2022 that left 15 guests with symptoms of gastroenteritis. During a 2022 inspection conducted jointly by SFA and the Ministry of Health, multiple violations of food hygiene were found at the food stand.
Similarly, a punishment of $8,500 was levied on HKP Food Technology, a food company also located in Singapore. In June of 2021, SFA reported that its officers had discovered "widespread pest infestations," including cockroaches and rodent droppings, as well as inadequate hygiene on-site. This obviously posed a significant threat to the safety of the food being served there.
