Expired food among irregularities found at boarding schools

PUTRAJAYA: Under the supply cooked food (BMB) programme, some food in boarding schools had expired for as long as 427 days, revealed the third series of the Auditor-General’s Report 2018.

In a physical audit done from February to March 2019, it found that 28 dry ingredients in 13 out of 42 school samples were without expiration dates and there was food that had expired ranging from one day to 427 days.“This was because there was no inspection done by the contractor or the dormitory supervisor on the expired stock, and the stock check did not follow the First In, First Out method.

“This can result in food poisoning, ” stated the report.

The report noted that the audit involved the evaluation of the BMB programme from 2016 to 2018 covering two main audit areas, which were performance and programme management.

The audit was conducted at the Education Ministry level and three state Education Departments as well as on 42 boarding schools in Sabah, Kelantan and Johor.

The allocation channelled for the programme during that period amounted to RM3.667bil.

Apart from expired food, the report also found that the ingredients and menu were changed without written approval of the school principal 24 hours in advance and raw food supplies were insufficient.

It also noted that the brand of dry food ingredients that was supplied was different than the one that was stipulated in the contract, adding that it also did not have the approval of the school’s administrator.

The report also found that some of the dry food had no halal logo and that there were some past the expiration date and contained foreign matter ranging from ants and dust to powder.

It also said that it found monosodium glutamat (MSG) and condensed milk which were not allowed in schools under the contract.

Separately, the Education Ministry also received 359 falsified bank statements from successful appointed tenderers under the BMB programme for boarding schools.