‘Worse than a third world country’ — SLA escalates hygiene complaints to Seah Im Food Centre managing agent

SINGAPORE: Authorities are taking action after diners raised serious concerns about the poor state of hygiene at Seah Im Food Centre, where flocks of pigeons have been seen feasting on leftover food and mingling freely among patrons.

The Seah Im Food Centre, located near the HarbourFront transport hub, has long served commuters and tourists, offering an affordable range of local hawker fare. However, with complaints piling up and photos circulating online, questions about hygiene standards and the effectiveness of current maintenance efforts are mounting.

One diner, John, told citizen journalism portal Stomp that he is left disgusted every time he visits Seah Im Food Centre, calling the environment worse than conditions he has witnessed in developing countries.

“I have never seen places like these even when I am in Third World countries such as Vietnam or Cambodia,” John said. “I’d rather pay the same price to buy a value set meal at McDonald’s or Burger King at VivoCity than pay the same price eating at unhygienic food centres.”

Sharing photos of birds pecking at leftovers on unattended tables and hovering around the tray return station, John said that while netting has been installed to keep birds out, John said the solution has been ineffective.

“The food centre has been covered with netting to prevent pigeons from entering. Unfortunately, this control measure failed as openings are still required for people to access and pigeons can enter from these openings,” he said

Suggesting that the tray return area should be enclosed to prevent birds from accessing food remnants, he also expressed concern about the cleaning practices at the centre. He alleged, “Speaking of food trays which pigeons feed from, I have noticed that the cleaners just wipe the trays with a rag and stack them for reuse.”

John said he reported the matter to the Singapore Food Agency (SFA), which referred him to the Singapore Land Authority (SLA). In response, the SLA said it has escalated the matter to Knight Frank, the managing agent overseeing the food centre.

In an email response to John, SLA said: “We have escalated this matter to our managing agent, Knight Frank, to monitor the bird congregation issue and ensure timely clearing of trolley bays, food trays, and utensils by our cleaning contractors to deter gathering of the birds. We are actively working to address these concerns.”

Still, for regular patrons like John, the experience remains deeply unsatisfactory.

“Food prices in Singapore keep going up, but the quality of living is getting worse,” he said.