Workers’ Party secretary-general Pritam Singh has confirmed that a volunteer team distributed expired chicken at a recent Bedok charity drive held in early June. Noting that the incident occurred due to an “oversight,” Singh revealed that the team quickly rectified the situation after what had happened came to light.
The opposition politician’s confirmation comes after a netizen, Kiat Tay, wrote in to a local publication, sharing that a friend who received some of the fresh chicken drumsticks distributed during a WP charity drive found that the drumsticks were about a month past its expiration.
Tay added that his friend approached others who attended the charity drive from Blocks 556 and 557 at Bedok North and discovered that they received expired chicken as well.
Expressing concerns that residents who may have unknowingly consumed the expired chicken may have fallen sick, Tay said, “Singaporeans can die but cannot afford to fall sick.”
Responding to Tay’s allegations, Singh confirmed that about 20 people were affected by the volunteer team’s “oversight”.
Singh revealed that he had been appraised of the situation on 2 June when a WP member informed him he had noticed that batches of chicken intended for distribution had become expired. The WP member reportedly alerted all residents and urged them to dispose of the chicken.
When he looked into “the oversight from the WP volunteers and coordinators in charge,” Singh found that a food distribution event from private donors at Waterview Condo had occurred on the same day as the charity drive for needy WP ward residents was held.
Revealing that the expiry date of a 275 chickens were not monitored, Singh said that the affected recipients who received the expired chicken were all contacted by volunteers and instructed to dispose of the expired product.
Singh further revealed that a new batch of fresh chicken was delivered to the affected recipients. The WP volunteer team added that they will be more careful to inspect the expiry date on products they give to residents before distribution.