Aloha Poke maintains 'A' hygiene rating after dead spider found in salad bowl

Raw fish salad bar Aloha Poke has maintained an "A" hygiene rating for its Katong kitchen following inspections by the National Environment Agency (NEA).

This comes after a customer found a dead spider in her Nalu salmon poke bowl from the eatery, which she ordered via food delivery service Deliveroo on May 10.

In a Facebook post about her "amazing spiderman experience", Ms Siew Ping shared how she found the "dead spider, limp and soaked with sauce, at the base" of the salad bowl, adding that the critter "wasn’t small".

Responding to the incident, Aloha Poke co-founder Mr John Chen apologised and voluntarily closed the Katong kitchen where the Deliveroo order was prepared for two days for thorough investigation and cleaning.

According to The Straits Times, Mr Chen said in an update on May 24: "We are pleased to announce that the NEA (National Environment Agency) has completed a thorough inspection of our kitchen @ Deliveroo Editions Katong."

He added: "No lapses were found in our practices and procedures, and we continue to maintain an 'A', the highest rating possible for hygiene and cleanliness."

The same day, Aloha Poke wrote on its Facebook page: "We engage independent hygiene auditors and conduct monthly pest control to ensure we uphold the highest food quality standards expected of Aloha Poké."

Ms Siew Ping also updated her Facebook post and said an inspection on May 15 following her report to NEA found no hygiene lapses in the kitchen. All food items were segregated and stored appropriately to prevent contamination.

"Indeed, a positive ending to the Amazing Spider incident!" she concluded.