A bitter taste in our mouths

As Malaysians, we love our food and we love eating out. But there is still plenty of room for improvement when it comes to hygiene and food safety, what with the disgusting finds in our meals. Aware of a spike in consumer complaints, two ministries are increasing enforcement to get food premises to clean up their act. 

THEY are not on the menu, but sometimes, you find them in your meal.

Maggots, pieces of wire, dead flies and baby cockroaches are just a few examples of the unsavoury items consumers have found in their food when dining out.

Such “finds” are certainly not unheard of and until today, many consumers still have a beef with poor food safety and hygiene standards at food outlets.

Responding to the grouses, the Health Ministry is planning to step up the 

number of inspections at food premises nationwide this year.

Local councils have also been ordered by the Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Ministry to conduct more enforcement efforts to ensure the cleanliness of such eateries.

In its routine inspections nationwide, the Health Ministry says most food premises to have a “satisfactory level of cleanliness”.

But the ministry is aware that there has been an increase in food safety complaints, with Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah highlighting that personal hygiene of food handlers is an area that is wanting.

Another aspect that needs stepping up is the vaccination and training of food handlers, he says.

While it is compulsory for restaurant owners and vendors to have their workers vaccinated against typhoid, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said in October last year that too many foreign workers in the Klang Valley have yet to get the jabs.

He said checks jointly conducted by the ministry and Kuala Lumpur City Council showed that over 30% of foreign workers were unvaccinated. 

As for food premises and their operations, Dr Noor Hisham says the 

ministry has continuously enforced the Food Act 1983 and its regulations to ensure food safety.

“A total of 10,226 food premises nationwide, consisting mainly of restaurants and food stalls, were closed under Section 11 of the Act between 2013 and March this year because they were dirty,” Dr Noor Hisham tells Sunday Star. 

Under the Act, if such operators defy orders to shut down, they can be jailed up to five years, fined, or both.

During the same period, 14,914 compounds were issued to food outlets which failed to comply with hygiene requirements, personal hygiene of food handlers and handling of food.

From the ministry’s records, there have been 1,560 food poisoning episodes between 2013 and April this year.

Although there was a dip in cases from 501 episodes in 2014 to 409 last year, the ministry is not slowing down on enforcement.

“We plan to step up the number of inspections this year. We have also increased the number of raids; 765 from January to March this year, compared to 495 raids during the same period last year,” Dr Noor Hisham says.

He also reveals that the ministry increased the number of checks on food premises by 70% since 2005.

From 73,037 inspections in 2005, the ministry has intensified its efforts to 124,254 inspections in 2015, with no intention of slowing down.

At the same time, he says the ministry is continuously promoting and educating consumers to choose clean and safe food.

“We also encourage consumers to share information regarding cases and food safety issues through the ministry’s social media platforms,” says Dr Noor Hisham.

Meanwhile, the Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Ministry has ordered local councils to increase enforcement activities against food outlets with unsanitary conditions.

“We have been monitoring the cleanliness of food premises through checks conducted by local authorities.

“Officers in local authorities are also continuously given training to ensure their competency in carrying out inspections of food premises,” says the ministry’s local government department environmental health consultancy division.

It explains that local authorities are empowered by by-laws to take action against errant food premises.

The division says the grading system for food outlets, ranging from “A” (very clean) to “no grade” (unclean), is to create awareness on food safety and hygiene.

“It is also to encourage food operators to compete for a better grade. The grading system will also help the public in choosing a clean place to have their meal,” it says.

According to the National Consumer Complaints Centre (NCCC), there has been an increase in complaints involving food outlets and pre-packaged food.

A total of 1,230 complaints were lodged by consumers in 2014 – a hike of 51.5% from the 812 complaints received in 2013.

While the chunk of the complaints was concerning price disputes (37.5%), issues on food safety and quality of food were also on top of the list.

It made up 35.1% of the total, or 431 complaints.

“Complaints were associated with foreign matters in food such as wires, plastic, insect remnants and maggots in food products purchased either in restaurants or at retail outlets like hypermarkets and convenience stores,” reads the NCCC’s 2014 Annual Consumer Complaints Report.

For pre-packaged food, most consumers groused that they were sold expired products while some encountered maggots or insects in chocolate.

“Food safety complaints against restaurants related to insect remnants, 

unhygienic practices, spoilt food and rodent infestation.

“Several food poisoning cases were also recorded and complaints were forwarded to the Health Ministry for further action,” the report says.

On pre-packaged food, Dr Noor Hisham says the ministry monitors both imported items and products sold in the domestic market.

“From 2011 until 2015, 173,143 food samples taken from the domestic market were analysed.

“Of the total, 6,400 or 3.7% of the samples contravened the Food Regulations 1985,” he reveals.

During the same period, 78,649 food samples taken at various entry points have been analysed and 921 or 1.2% of the samples were found to breach regulations.

Enforcement action – recalling the products, disposing the food or prosecuting the errant parties – was then taken.

Noting that price disputes in food outlets are still a major consumer complaint, the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry points out that the prices charged are determined by the market and are not controlled by the ministry.

“Nevertheless, the ministry believes traders should practice good business ethics. We do not stop traders from making profits but they must be reasonable. 

“Should the traders increase prices drastically or try to make unreasonable profits, the ministry can and will take action under the Price Control and Anti-profiteering Act 2011,” says ministry’s enforcement director Mohd Roslan Mahayudin.

During the recent Ramadan bazaars, the ministry conducted inspections throughout the country for the entire fasting month to ensure that traders did not charge unreasonable prices.

“Between June 6 and 27, a total of 63,389 checks were conducted in Ramadan bazaars, and we have received 16 complaints on prices. The ministry issued 4,764 warning letters to bazaar traders who have been suspected of unnecessarily raising prices,” he says.

Mohd Roslan urges consumers to exercise their rights and compare prices, and the quality of items prior to purchase. 

“On our part, we will proactively check on traders, especially during festive seasons, to ensure that nobody takes advantage of consumers,” he says.