Be vigilant on food safety
I REFER to the report “Hospital shuts down its canteen after video of rat goes viral” (The Star, Aug 19). It is unthinkable that this unfortunate incident occurred in a hospital where cleanliness and hygiene are very important aspects in the treatment of patients.
What happened here is just the tip of the iceberg as there are many cases of unhealthy and poor hygiene practices in the production of agricultural products and preparation of food for sale that have not been reported in or exposed by the media.
It seems that the modus operandi of the authorities is to react when somebody uploads a video but there is no proactive course of action, like carrying out scheduled checking and monitoring at all levels of the food production process/ chain from farm to table. This is a sad tale of poor awareness and understanding of food safety among producers and sellers, lax regulations and underfunded enforcement of food safety laws.
The key issue here is the strict compliance to food hygiene regulations and health standards to ensure safety of food from production to consumption. Food can be contaminated at any point of the production process, from harvesting or slaughtering to processing, storage, distribution, transport and preparation.
It is crucial for people who are key players in the food production process to understand how their attitude, behaviour and activities on hygiene, including the maintenance and cleanliness of their premises and equipment, can affect the safety of food and prevent exposure to food-borne diseases.
Our nation is a net importer of agro-food. Data compiled by the Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Ministry indicates that our import bill is now about RM45.5bil.
The recent withdrawal of millions of eggs and egg products from European markets (due to contamination by toxic insecticide that was used to eradicate lice infestation) shows that we are vulnerable to any defect in the food production/ preparation process.
At the end of the food chain are the consumers who generally have limited information on the safety of the imported food they eat. The only consolation is that agro-food producers in developed countries have created a system to trace the source of the produce if there is any occurrence of contamination.
Our local agro-food production sector might also be adopting unhealthy methods of farming and rearing. There is a possibility that banned growth hormones like beta agonists and toxic pesticides or insecticides are being used in animal rearing and vegetable farming respectively. Profits are the underlying motivation for these unscrupulous and illegal practices.
We love our hawker food and enjoy this gastronomical delight at coffee shops, hawker centres, restaurants and street vendors plying their trade from warong and three-wheeled bikes.
Good hygiene is vital to ensure that the food we consume is safe. But if we observe the sellers preparing the food, we can see that most of them are not adequately trained in basic hygiene standards and safety measures.
Firstly, the sellers do not understand that poor hygiene exposes consumers to the risk of contamination. It is common to see the sellers or helpers not washing their hands with soap after using the toilet, not wearing gloves when handling food, or not washing the plates, bowls or cups properly.
Secondly, vegetables, fish and meat are not thoroughly washed before cutting and cooking and perishable ingredients and condiments are not stored properly to prevent contamination.
Thirdly, besides using plastic for takeaway food, there is a widespread and indiscriminate usage of plastic in food preparation. The sellers use plastic containers to scoop hot soup and raffia string to tie chickens that are dipped into hot water or cook nasi himpit wrapped in plastic. Some plastics, especially those made from low-grade material, release bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical that’s hazardous to health, when exposed to sunlight or hot water.
It is imperative that both food security and food safety be accorded top priority in our nation’s agenda. It is not merely the supply of food but the quality and safety as well that must not be compromised.
The Agriculture and Agrobased Industry Ministry and Health Ministry as well as local authorities should have a proactive plan to enforce the laws and regulations on hygiene and food safety. The plan should include continuous dialogue with producers, sellers and handlers to create awareness and impart knowledge on hygiene and food safety.
Lastly, we as consumers should discard our lackadaisical and indifferent attitude towards this issue. We should exert our consumers’ right and boycott the sellers or coffee shop owners who do not follow the food safety rules. We should use social media to expose those who blatantly disregard hygiene and food safety, and create a network of consumers to monitor and report those who fail to protect our food production chain.