Food poisoning in schools on the increase

PETALING JAYA: Food poisoning among pupils in schools had increased by 57% in the first four months of this year as compared to the same period last year.

Health Director-General Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said there were 47 cases of food poisoning between Jan 1 and April 16 this year as compared with 30 cases during the same period.

“These cases do not take into account the food poisoning caused by the 1Malaysia Milk Programme (PS1M). The majority of the food poisoning, that is 95.7%, were due to food prepared in the school canteen or hostel kitchen,” he said, adding the main causes are contaminated raw materials, cross-contamination while handling food and food taken after more than four hours after cooking. Other contributing factors, he said, were vilification of temperature during processing, transportation and storage of raw materials.

Noor Hisham said food poisoning can be averted if the operators pay close attention to food preparation, adhere to the food safety guidelines, maintain cleanliness and ensure food safety along the food chain is not compromised.

“Any operator(s) found not adhering to the food hygiene and safety procedure can be issued with a compound under the Food Hygiene Regulation 2009,” he said.

Noor Hisham said that his ministry will work closely with the Education Ministry to tackle the food poisoning issue. The public can get more information at the state and district health departments, the ministry website – http://moh.spab.gov.my or Facebook www.facebook.com/bkkmhq.