Residents upset about a 24-hour coffee shop’s exhaust pipe near their window, blowing into their homes and making loud noises

SINGAPORE: A 24-hour coffee shop located at Block 3 Lorong Lew Lian in Serangoon is experiencing backlash for nearby residents due to the oily fumes and loud noises of its exhaust pipes, which were installed beside the residents’ windows. 

Operated by the Kimly Group, the coffee shop has two large exhaust pipes on its rooftops, but the outlets were located near several flats. As reported by Shin Min Daily News, many residents are now complaining about this inconvenience. 

Sentiments from the residents

A narrative from a 50-year-old resident revealed that the coffee shop installed a partition on the exhaust vent to try to minimise the smell of cooking fumes; however, it allowed the odour to pass into their homes. 

Another resident who lives on a much higher floor pointed out that, even though they can’t smell the fumes, they are bombarded by the coffee shop’s noise. 

“We’re not home in the morning, and the noise stops around 10 o’clock in the evening.” 

As a response to Shin Min Daily News’s queries, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) admitted that they have received the feedback from the residents and are now conducting the needed inspections at the coffee shop. The SFA noted that the operator of the shop was instructed to follow the right measures to reduce odours and noise. 

“We encourage operators to install silencers or suitable noise-reduction equipment, including for exhaust systems, to minimise disturbances,” SFA added.

More so, SFA reminded all food business owners that food outlets are required to install air-cleaning systems to clean their cooking fumes. The agency will then continue to monitor the coffee shop and conduct regular inspections.

The importance of restaurant inspections

In Singapore, a restaurant inspection is conducted by the SFA to make sure that any restaurant/food business owners follow the appropriate hygiene rules and can safely prepare and serve food.

Usually, these inspections happen once a year and are carried out by SFA hygiene officers. However, the officers can come at any time without warning, so they can see and check how clean a restaurant really is on a daily basis. 

During these inspections, these officers have the right to: 

• Enter and inspect the restaurant’s premises
• Require the owner/operator to state their name and place of residence
• Inspect any food that is for sale
• Open and examine any package that contains food for sale
• Secure, weigh, or measure any food that does not meet the minimum standards of hygiene as per the law 
• Seize and/or destroy any food that can cause harm to health.