Singapore downgrades hygiene rating of Michelin-star outlet after 43 get food poisoning symptoms

[January 30, 2018] SINGAPORE (Reuters) - A Michelin-star restaurant in Singapore has been hit with a hygiene downgrade by health authorities after more than three dozen guests at a wedding reception fell ill, having eaten food prepared by its kitchen staff.

The 43 patrons reported "gastroenteritis symptoms" after consuming food prepared by the staff of Summer Palace in November, Singapore's National Environment Agency (NEA) said in an advisory on Monday.

Summer Palace, the Cantonese restaurant in the Regent Singapore, a Four Seasons-owned hotel known for its dim sum, was awarded the Michelin star last June.

A spokeswoman for the Regent told Reuters the 43 were guests at a wedding banquet at the hotel and not Summer Palace itself, but the restaurant was named because some of its staff were involved in preparing the banquet food.

The NEA, Singapore's state agency handling food safety, downgraded Summer Palace's hygiene rating to the second lowest "C" grade, from its earlier "A".

An "A" grade means the establishment met 85 percent, or more, of the food hygiene requirements, while a "C" grade implied it had met 50 percent to 69 percent.

Singapore is the first Southeast Asian country, and the fourth in Asia, to be rated by the Michelin Guide.

The Michelin Guide had no immediate comment on whether it would strip the restaurant of the star.

Summer Palace has yet to be contacted by Michelin, the Regent spokeswoman said.

($1=1.3123 Singapore dollars)

(Reporting by Fathin Ungku and Dewey Sim; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

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