“Even without evidence, the reputational damage can be detrimental,” he said, adding that the company stopped donating food. He cited one example of a beneficiary blaming a donor for food poisoning, even though others who ate the food were not affected.

While most food rescuers have yet to encounter major food poisoning incidents, Mr Tay said the fear remains for donors from F&B establishments. Mr Daniel Tay, who co-founded SG Food Rescue before stepping down from the group in 2020, said: “Cooked food is the dangerous one because it has the highest chance of being contaminated without people realising it, which is why some food rescue groups don’t even want to try to rescue cooked food, and prefer to rescue other types like fresh produce, raw food and dry goods, where you can see or smell very obviously if it’s gone bad.”īoth Ms Lin and Mr Tay noted that most business donors prefer not to be named to protect their reputation. Ms Lin Qing Hui, founder of Divert for 2nd Life, which has been signing indemnity agreements with donors of cooked food since it was founded in 2018, said: “Liability is a concern for many businesses, so it was quite natural to come up with a release agreement.” No food should be kept at room temperature for more than four hours from the time it is cooked at a caterer’s kitchen to the time it is consumed.įor Food Bank Singapore, its food donor release form came about in 2017 as the SFA does not have rules under the Sale of Food Act for businesses to donate food, said founder Nichol Ng. The Singapore Food Agency (SFA), which regulates food safety, said food-borne pathogens exist in cooked food kept at temperatures of between 5 deg C and 60 deg C.

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