Bazaar traders must follow strict S.O.P. to avoid food poisoning cases

TO boost the economy, Ramadan bazaars will make a return this year. However, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin said bazaar traders must adhere to stricter standard operating procedures (SOP) set by the National Security Council.

The traders may be subjected to a stricter vetting process due to the limited spots at the bazaars. For example, the Shah Alam City Council has received 1,600 applications for the bazaars.

As much as we want to prevent this initiative from worsening the pandemic, one should not ignore that these bazaars could be selling meals that cause foodborne illnesses. Therefore, there is a need to monitor the traders’ hygiene compliance to reduce the burden of the hospitals handling Covid-19 cases.

Cases of bazaar workers not vaccinated against typhoid emerge every year. In 2019, it was reported that such workers were not inoculated in Johor Baru. The matter was highlighted by the media from a neighbouring country.

Typhoid vaccination is mandatory for food handlers to prevent a salmonella outbreak. By adopting a stricter SOP, the number of visitors to the bazaars can be controlled, which will prevent overcrowding. This should also apply to the people working at the bazaars.

As some ready-to-eat foods are home-cooked before being sold at the bazaars, the Health Ministry had issued guidelines for such meals following the “Puding Buih” incident in Terengganu last year.

Ninety-nine food poisoning cases and one death were recorded in the incident. Expired eggs used in the pudding were the cause of the incident. The ministry’s guidelines recommended that food that had been prepared must be sold to customers within four hours. Food deliverers must be regulated to ensure that the meals are not exposed to temperatures that promote microbial growth.

This also means that bazaar traders must be registered under the Food Safety Information System of Malaysia. This will ensure that they will know proper food handling. Therefore, the local authority must consider this in their approval for the bazaar trader permits.

The pandemic has taught us to be more vigilant. The call for better handling of bazaars is not to prevent people from earning a living, but to help them serve the community. Let us not make this year’s Ramadan sombre by creating a food poisoning incident.

DR ADI MD SIKIN

Food Science and Technology Department, Universiti Teknologi MARA