Official: Zero food poisoning death in five years indicative of Sarawak’s strict quality control

KUCHING: There has been no record of death from food poisoning in Sarawak in the last five years, indicating the

This was mentioned by Ministry of Health (MoH)’s Food Safety and Quality Division (BKKM) senior director Norrani Eksan in her speech for the launch of the statelevel ‘World Food Safety Day 2023’ and also the ‘Food Preservation Programme’ at Pustaka Negeri Sarawak here yesterday.

Adding on, she said in the first eight months of this year, 7,795 food premises in Sarawak had been inspected by the BKKM, with assistance from Health Department Sarawak, where 2,463 compounds had been issued over non-compliance with the Food Act 1983.

Moreover, she said from the 464 food samples collected from the operations carried out during the period under review, 13 were found to have violated the food standards, leading to legal action being taken against the offenders.

“The primary objective of our programme is to advocate to policy-makers, those in the food industry, as well as the food handlers and the consumers about the importance of them upholding their responsibility in ensuring food safety would always be at its best.

“The relevant agencies play a crucial role in their respective areas of jurisdiction.

“Agencies such as the local authorities, Jakim (Department of Islamic Development Malaysia), the government departments in charge of agriculture, fisheries and veterinary, and other relevant agencies have to collaborate in reinforcing food safety control throughout the whole chain,” she said.

On means to reduce the risk of food poisoning, Norrani advised consumers to always practise the ‘Look, Smell, and Taste’ concept.

“We are all consumers, the endpoint in the food chain, and we have the power to drive change in ensuring that the food we consume is clean and safe.

“That said, the ministry remains committed to implementing various activities and intervention programmes to enhance food safety levels and prevent incidents of food poisoning from happening,” she added.

On BKKM, Norrani said this MoH division had been runningkey food safety assurance programmes, namely the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP), Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and ‘Makanan Selamat Tanggungjawab Industri’ (MeSTI, or Food Safety, Responsibility of Industry), all aimed at aiding the food sector in reinforcing safety measures within their food production facilities, and ultimately, for food exportation purposes.

In this respect, she said as at August 2023, Sarawak recorded a total of 411 food premises that had obtained MeSTI certification, 42 food factories with HACCP certification, and 22 food factories with GMP recognition.

She also said 789 food premises in Sarawak had received the BeSS certification, issued by the Health Department to food operators for them to uphold the provision of safe and healthy food prepared in hygienic setting.

“The BeSS scheme was introduced by the MoH in 2013, meant to encourage restaurants and catering operators to maintain clean premises and provide safe, high-quality readyto-eat food for consumers,” she said.

Additionally, Norrani said the ministry had introduced the ‘Home-Based Food Entrepreneurs Listing Programme’, meant to formalise home-based food businesses and support the compliance with the relevant legal requirements.