It ain’t a proper Chinese New Year celebration without proper raw fish in your Yusheng platter — but with the bacterial scare and all, the ban seems necessary.
Luckily, 21 foodstalls and caterers have been given the green light by the National Environmental Agency (NEA) to sell ready-to-eat raw fish dishes using saltwater fish. According to Senior Minister of State for Health Amy Khor, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) have even been engaging suppliers to ensure sufficient levels of saltwater fish to be used for the dishes.
The staple prosperity toss of Lunar New Year celebrations was dealt a major blow when the authorities banned raw fish dishes to be sold due to the Groub B Streptococcus infection. A 53-year-old man fell into a coma last year after consuming a bowl of raw fish porridge.
Going “Huat Ah” this year may prove to be an odd task, considering the dish consists mainly of raw fish strips. Khor however noted that many food operators have since diversified their offerings by substituting alternatives such as mushrooms, fried salmon skin and cooked abalone.
Still not a proper Lo Hei though. Well, at least now you do a legit one through the 21 approved food operators.
“These licensees have applied to use raw salmon from certified sources for these RTE raw fish dishes,” mentioned Khor in a Facebook post. “Another six licensees have submitted their applications, and we are working to let these applicants know the status of their applications by 5 Feb.”
To find out which retail food establishments have been approved, head on to the NEA website.
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