KOTA KINABALU: Local authorities are urged to conduct more inspections on eateries while food handlers are advised to adopt strict hygiene practices at all times.
National Consumer Foundation’s Sabah chairman David Chan said consumers trust eateries and food processing industries to provide them with safe and clean products, and it was their responsibility to ensure that hygiene and health guidelines were complied with.
“Other than that, authorities should conduct more routine inspections as well,” he said in response to a raid under the Food Safety Assurance Program (PJKM) in Tawau earlier this month where four food processing factories were ordered to shut down for two weeks.
These factories were found with rat droppings and three tonnes of processed foodstuff were confiscated as well.
The inspections revealed that some food processing facilities failed to comply with the food safety standards of the Makanan Selamat Tanggungjawab Industri (MeSTI) certification.
In emphasising the importance of routine inspections in food processing plants across Sabah to prevent similar incidents and safeguard public health, Chan also pointed to a more recent incident where 25,993.34kg of imported beef unfit for consumption were disposed of.
Halal frozen food importer and distributor Jetsin Sdn Bhd had stated that a total of 1,840 cartons of imported beef neck bones had been disposed of by the City Hall at the Kayu Madang landfill in Telipok near here, due to a container malfunction causing the products to be unsafe upon arrival at their warehouse.
The company’s managing director, Datuk Koh Chung Jade, had said for transparency purposes, the company has cautioned the public when purchasing similar products sold at unusually low prices as they cannot guarantee that no one will attempt to retrieve the discarded meat.
Chan said the quick and responsible actions of this company was commendable.
Mayor Datuk Seri Dr Sabin Samitah said the City Hall remains strict in its enforcement pertaining food hygiene and safety, and would not hesitate to revoke their business licence if offending premises fail to comply following warnings issued.
He said between January and October this year, the City Hall has issued a total of 1,200 notices (two-week closure), and 1,199 warnings for premises to improve their level of cleanliness with only one licence suspension recorded.
To ensure a clean and healthy dining experience, City Hall officials would conduct at least one major routine check at eateries annually and inspections of at least twice for Grade C premises (or until the cleanliness grade improved), he said.
Sabin said on complaints received, officials would conduct more inspections on the reported premises and if the cleanliness level is not eligible to be graded due to its condition, they would be issued with a 14-day improvement notice.
Failure to improve the cleanliness conditions would result in the licence of these premises being suspended, he said.
Among the criterias looked into during inspections are the food preparation areas and toilet cleanliness, health status of food handlers, and storage and handling mechanisms, he said.
“Any premised found violating the licence conditions can be fined a compound of up to RM500,” Sabin stated.
