Food samples from five eateries in Klang collected for analysis during spot check

Food samples from restaurants are placed in little bags, tagged and labelled to be sent to the Chemistry Department.

WORKERS at five restaurants in Taman Teluk Pulai and Sungai Pinang in Klang have been warned to improve hygiene standards to ensure all food prepared and sold on-site are safe to eat.

Klang Municipal Council (MPK) Health Department director Azmi Muji said its health inspectors had intensified checks on food preparation and handling practices.

During a check at several eateries last Friday, health inspectors found food preparation standards in five eateries in both areas wanting.

Workers were instructed to ensure the storage and kitchen areas were kept clean, to prevent the build-up of dirt and mould.

Azmi said food storage areas were also checked for traces of pest infestation.

However, no compounds were issued.

“In Taman Teluk Pulai and Sungai Pinang, 10 samples of cooked food were collected to be sent to the food quality laboratory for analysis at the Chemistry Department in Petaling Jaya,” he said.

Samples were placed into plastic bags, tagged and labelled.

“Our operations are carried out under the MPK Food Handling By-law 2007 where routine food premises inspections and food sampling are done as part of regular surveillance,” said Azmi.

He said action might be taken if results indicated any kind of contamination.

“MPK’s hygiene checks at eateries are an ongoing exercise and those found violating the health codes will be issued with compounds or shut down until all issues are rectified,” he said.

He added that some checks were based on people’s complaints but most inspections were spot checks carried out at random.

On another matter, Azmi said it was a challenge to ensure all eateries installed grease traps.

“Operators of food outlets sometimes fail to maintain their grease traps, causing the grease, fats and dirty oil to flow into the drains, while some restaurants do not instal the traps at all.

“Grease traps are needed to prevent kitchen waste from causing environmental pollution of the waterways.

“Waste entering the drains is mainly from by-products of cooking such as food scraps, meat fats, cooking oil and gravy,” he said.

Azmi added that MPK Health Department’s Food Safety and Quality Division would conduct checks on food hygiene and grease traps over the next three weeks at Jalan Tengku Kelana, Taman Sri Andalas, Bandar Botanic and Taman Berkeley.