SERDANG: The Veterinary Services Department (VSD) and Statistics Department have been tasked with collecting data related to chicken supply to ensure food safety control is managed in an orderly manner, said Special Task Force on Jihad Against Inflation chairman Tan Sri Annuar Musa.
"Without clear data, the issue of food safety cannot be managed comprehensively," said the Minister of Communications and Multimedia, who added that this was to prevent the government from adopting ad hoc measures and flip-flop policies.
He said the JPV was given a week to propose a pattern of data management on chicken production and chicken import, besides having the latest data on import permit records to track the total amount of chicken imports.
The Statistics Department, meanwhile, would need to prepare a monthly Chicken Production Cost Index, where the figure will be used as a benchmark to determine fair pricing at the retail and sales levels, he told a media conference here on Thursday (Aug 11) after chairing the 10th series of the Special Task Force on Jihad Against Inflation meeting.
Annuar said the policy on the import and export of whole chickens, including the price of cooking oil set for now, would be maintained and not changed until the VSD and Statistics Department mastered data management in a more organised manner.
"This model (on data management) can be expanded to other food items to ensure a more orderly food safety control based on more structured management," he said.
More to come
