PETALING JAYA: Reports of food poisoning cases in the country have drastically reduced, thanks to greater vigilance and inspections by the Health Ministry Food Safety and Quality Division (FSQD).
It said 516 food poisoning cases were reported in 2019. However, only 288 cases were reported in 2020 and 197 last year.
FSQD director Norrani Eksan said ensuring food safety and quality control is very challenging today due to the complexity of food production.
“Various sources of contamination must be controlled along the food supply chain, starting from raw materials, processing, transport, food preparation and up to the level of consumption, to guarantee that the food produced is safe and of high quality.”
Norrani said the ministry’s mandate is to protect the public against health hazards and fraud in the storage, preparation, processing, packaging, transport, sale and consumption of food, and to facilitate its trade.
“All food categories listed under the Food Regulations 1985 should comply with specified regulations, including labelling provisions.”
Norrani said inspections are carried out for various purposes, including monitoring, surveillance, enforcement, complaints, food safety crises, licensing and certification.
“The ministry continuously conducts routine monitoring and periodic operations on food premises throughout Malaysia,” she said.
To improve the level of hygiene of food premises, the ministry has enforced legislation against food premises owners found to neglect food hygiene and safety.
This includes the closure of offending premises for a period not exceeding 14 days under Section 11 of the Food Act 1983. Those who disregard instructions to close can be charged in court and, if convicted, be imprisoned for a period not exceeding five years or face a fine, or both, under the Food Hygiene Regulations 2009.
“Under the regulations, there are 33 offences that can be compounded, which cover aspects of general hygiene and specific hygiene of food premises, hygiene of food handlers and food handling,” she said.
Inspections are also carried out along the food supply chain, including packing houses, warehouses, distribution centres, retail outlets, food service outlets, as well as entry points throughout the country.
Apart from food, FSQD also carries out inspections on food contact materials such as milk bottles, ceramic pots used in cooking and labelling of food products and advertisements.
The division is also responsible for all food products sold in the open market, including vegetables, fish and chicken.
To strengthen control, the division also works closely with the Agriculture and Food Industries Ministry to ensure products sold along the supply chain are safe for consumption.
In May this year, Johor health authorities ordered a restaurant in the city to shut down following a post on social media linking the premises to a recent food poisoning incident.
Kelantan has not been spared either as it logged 64 food poisoning cases in the first two months of this year.