Dirty food processing premises ordered closed for two weeks
BUTTERWORTH: Two premises – a soy sauce factory and a bakery – have been ordered to close for two weeks, due to dirty conditions and non-compliance with food safety and quality standards, in an ‘Ops Bersih’ operation conducted by the Penang Health Department.
The department’s Food Safety and Quality Division (BKKM) Environmental Health officer Mohd Wazir Khalid said that the two premises were issued with nine compounds worth almost RM9,000.
“Through an inspection carried out on the two premises, we found that the level of cleanliness did not meet the standards stipulated under the Food Safety Assurance Programme (PJKM) which can cause food poisoning.
“Therefore, the department has issued a closure notice order, under Section 11 of the Food Act 1983, for 14 days for the two premises, effective today,” he said at a press conference a er the operation Thursday.
He said that the raid on the soy sauce factory in Bagan Ajam showed there were foreign materials such as dried leaves, twigs and bird feathers in a fibreglass barrel used to marinate soybean.
“Other animal faeces could also have entered it, which is a risk for food poisoning, while the 20-year-old barrel was in a ro en condition, besides having fungus on the unwashed liner,” he said.
Mohd Wazir said the soy sauce factory, which has been operating for 50 years, was also suspected of using contaminated recycled plastic bo les.
“The plastic bo les found (behind the premises) were not washed according to the standard operating procedures (SOPs) of hygiene, and were done in the open and exposed to lizard droppings,” he said, adding that the factory was subject to five compounds of about RM5,000.