Why are the health authorities soft on certain dirty eateries?

January 14, 2017

Please get serious on food safety and health!

Why are the health authorities soft on certain dirty eateries?

A fast food restaurant in Seremban 2 was ordered to close for two weeks due to poor hygiene at its premises.

And a restaurant in Bandar Baru Nilai was inspected following complaints that worms were found in its chili sauce and fined RM1,000.

“Enforcement action does not look fair to all errant food handlers and operators. Malaysians want to know why the health authorities are soft on some, while others are swiftly ordered to close for two weeks,” Gerakan Deputy Speaker Syed Abdul Razak Alsagoff said.

Syed Razak said food hygiene management “cannot be compromised for whatever reasons”.

“The moment a food handler or operator is exposed, it must be closed down for cleaning. There must be no special treatment for any food operator or owner,” he added.

Syed Razak reiterated that “there have been too many cases of complaints of unhygienic eateries and food handlers and the health authorities must buck up”.

“One of the best ways to jolt them to senses is to shame such food operators and owners so that they really treat food hygiene management more seriously.

“So, besides taking feeble action like slapping fines, why don’t they also name the unhygienic food operators and owners. Why are you not naming the restaurants or operators?”

Syed Razak, who is Gerakan’s nominee to contest N.37 Bukit Lanjan in the coming 14th General Election (GE14), asked: “What action was taken against the 7-Eleven ‘rat’ outlet in Kelana Jaya, Petaling Jaya?

“So, the Old Town ‘chilly sauce maggot’ outlet in Nilai was fined RM1,000. Why was the outlet not named by the health authorities? Why was it not closed down for cleaning or overhaul?

“And, what about the ‘cat’ nasi kandar outlet in Ipoh? Has the health authorities acted? Please tell Malaysians that you did and please name them as a deterrent to others to observe strict hygiene when handling food,” he added.

For those who had missed out on earlier postings on this issue, here’s the link: http://bukitlanjan.blogspot.my/2017/01/bukit-lanjan-mr-health-d-g-worms-in-old.html

And here’s The Star Online report on the latest development on the above issues:

"Nation

Home > News > Nation

Thursday, 12 January 2017 | MYT 11:16 PM

Fast food restaurant ordered to close for two weeks due to poor hygiene

SEREMBAN: A fast food restaurant in Seremban 2 here was ordered by the state Health Department to close for two weeks beginning Thursday due to poor hygiene at the premises.

Negri Sembilan health director Dr Abdul Rahim Abdullah said the restaurant was found to have pest control issue after a customer found a cockroach in a chocolate drink, which she claimed she bought from the premises on Tuesday.

"We carry out inspections today after the picture of the chocolate drink went viral on social media," he said in a statement Thursday.

The cleanliness of the restaurant was found to be at 57.5% and it was ordered to close for 14 days under Section 11 of the Food Act 1983, he said.

However, Dr Abdul Rahim said the restaurant could appeal after the cleanliness issue had been resolved.

He also said a restaurant in Bandar Baru Nilai was inspected following complaints that worms were found in its chili sauce.

He said the inspection carried out on Monday found that the storage for the uncooked food at the premises was in unsatisfactory condition.

The Department issued the restaurant with a compound of RM1,000 under Section 32B of the Food Hygiene Regulations 2009. - Bernama"