THE bread was not past its expiry date, but businessman L Guna claimed that he fell ill after eating four slices.

When the 50-year-old went to check the remaining slices, he saw green mould growing on them.

Mr Guna bought the loaf of Mighty White bread, which cost $1.50, from a provision shop in Serangoon Road on 9 Nov.

Mr Guna said the bread looked fine when he bought it. He said: 'The loaf had an expiry date but no issue date. The expiry date was 12 Nov.'

He ate four slices for breakfast at 10am the next day.

He said: 'The first four slices I ate looked fine.

Vomited
'Later that day, I had diarrhoea and vomited. I went to look at the loaf and saw the other slices had green mould growing all over them.'

Besides the bread, Mr Guna said he later ate some rice at a hawker's centre near his home that day.

Mr Guna, who lives alone, visited a doctor the same day and was told that he had food poisoning.

He said: 'When I told him about the bread, he asked me to take it with me on the next visit. The next day, I showed the loaf to the doctor, who said my food poisoning could have been caused by the bread.'

Mr Guna then called Delicate Food Enterprises (Delicate), the company that supplied the bread. 'Their boss, a Mr Phua, told me that the company was willing to take back the loaf and reimburse me for it,' he said.

Mr Guna said he asked Mr Phua why the bread did not have the date of manufacture, but got no answer.

He said: 'Mr Phua offered to pay my medical fees, compensate me for the bread I had bought and also add another $300 or $400. I checked with my lawyer, who said I should not give back the bread without first taking photographs of the loaf and getting a written note from Mr Phua.

'I then refused to return the bread and said the compensation was not enough.'

Mr Phua, who did not want to give his full name, said the loaf of bread Mr Guna consumed was manufactured by Mighty Bakery in Malaysia on 6 Nov, and sent from Johor Baru to Singapore.

The senior manager with Delicate added that the bakery was well-known in Malaysia and Mr Guna's case was its first complaint so far.

Mr Phua said he offered to compensate Mr Guna when he was told about the food poisoning.

He also asked Mr Guna where he put the loaf after he bought it.

Reimbursement
He said Mr Guna told him he had placed the loaf near the refrigerator at home and Mr Phua thought that the warm and humid conditions may have caused the bread to go bad faster.

He said: 'We wanted to find out what had happened and offered to visit him at his home, but Mr Guna would not let us do so, nor would he let us take photographs of the loaf.'

Mr Phua said he offered to reimburse Mr Guna for the loaf he bought, his medical bills and an additional $200 to $300 for any medical leave he may have been given as he felt that was the right thing to do.

He said: 'But Mr Guna said we should also compensate him for his mental distress, and I said that I could not give more than that.'

Mr Guna confirmed that he felt he should be compensated for the 'suffering' he went through.

When he told Mr Phua that he may consider taking legal action, Mr Phua said he told him he could do so.

Mr Phua said: 'But I added that what was more important was that we tried to find out what went wrong first so that there would be no other victims.

'I told Mr Guna he could go to the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA), and I said the company was willing to take the punishment, like a fine, if we were found responsible.'

Mr Guna denied not letting Mr Phua visit him.

He said he put the bread on his kitchen table after buying it, as he had always done.

He also said Mr Phua never suggested taking photographs of the bread.

VOLUNTARY LABELLING
THE shelf life of food products are affected by many factors including the composition, packaging and their storage condition, Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) spokesman Goh Shih Yong said.

'Poor storage and improper handling can also result in green fungus growing on the bread,' he said. 'Bread should also be kept in a dry place and not handled with wet hands.'

Mr Goh said it was not mandatory in Singapore for all pre-packed food, including bread, to be marked with a date of manufacture and expiry date, and such labelling seen on loaves here is voluntary.

He said they could not yet conclude that Mr Guna's illness was caused by eating the bread, and Mr Guna could call AVA at 6325 7625 to give more details.

He said: 'We would also like to know what else he ate that day, besides bread, and whether he gave this information to the doctor.'

This article was first published in The New Paper on November 17, 2008.