A total of 130 people reported having gastroenteritis symptoms, with 57 taken to the hospital on the day of the incident on Jul 30 last year.
The ByteDance office is located at One Raffles Quay, and the staff who fell ill had visited a canteen on the 26th floor of the building. The company engages licensed external vendors to cater food for its offices.
Caterer Yunhaiyao, which runs the Yun Nans chain of restaurants, was charged with two offences – one under the Environmental Public Health (Food Hygiene) Regulations and the other under the Sale of Food Act.
On Jul 30, 2024, Yunhaiyao allegedly sold food which was not of the quality demanded by ByteDance.
The caterer sold "wok-fried diced chicken" that was found to contain bacteria that can cause food poisoning, identified[b] [/b]as "coagulase-positive staphylococcus aureus ... with staphylococcus enterotoxin A genes" in a charge sheet.
The caterer is also said to have failed to ensure that its premises at Northpoint City were free from cockroach infestations.
On Jul 31, 2024, while engaged in the preparation of food for sale, Yunhaiyao's premises were said to have more than 10 live cockroaches, found under a folded grey plastic mat behind a rack.