SINGAPORE, April 14 -- Investigations into the gastroenteritis outbreak that affected 187 individuals during a national Total Defence exercise in February have found no conclusive evidence linking the illnesses to the ready-to-eat (RTE) meals distributed during the event.

According to The Straits Times (ST), the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) and the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in a joint statement today: "This means that both food safety and clinical findings did not pinpoint the ready-to-eat (RTE) meals as the definitive cause of the incident."

Laboratory tests were conducted on meal samples, environmental swabs taken from food preparation surfaces and equipment at Sats' premises, as well as stool samples from those affected and food h...