Nutrition and Quality Control was the topic for the morning session. PPKP En.Mokthar bin Mat Isa was the officer in-charge of the briefing today. We were briefed on the inspection of food premises protocol, food sampling protocol, and then taken for a field trip to do food sampling.
Inspection of food premises
The inspection is done by the officers in this unit on a random basis or after receiving a complaint. Firstly, the premise that is going to be inspected should be identified and the necessary equipments should be prepared. Next, the PPKP will go to the premise and introduce himself and show the identity card as well as explain the purpose of the visit. Then, the premise will be checked and photographs are taken for prove. The premise evaluation form (KMM3P1 ( restaurants), KMM3P2 ( stalls), KMM3P3 (static food stalls), factory evaluation form) is filled. Food sampling can be conducted if necessary.
A demerit system is used to assess the safety and quality of the food. When a food outlet scores less than 70% (fails to meet the required standard), the outlet will be issued a closing order for 14 days. If the food outlet is cleaned up within 14 days, the owner can request for an inspection. If the score is more than 70%, they can reopen the outlet. This unit has a target of inspecting 1300 premises a year which is inclusive of school canteens, hostel cafeterias, factories, grocery shops, etc. The colour tags used to identify the standards are:
red: less than 50%
yellow: 50-75%
green: more than 75%
Food sampling protocol
He started off by explaining the procedures involved in sampling of food as we were scheduled for a sampling field trip. We were told that food samples can be divided into micro, chemical and physical. He then explained the food sampling protocol which involves the following steps:
a) Plan the visit, choose location
b) Introduce yourself to the shop owner and show the identity card.
c) Explain the purpose of the visit.
d) Inspect and select the samples.
e) Buy the items and keep the receipt.
f) Label and seal the samples
g) In case of micro and physical samples only 1 sample is taken.
h) For chemical samples, the samples have to be divided into 3 parts. The owner is told to choose 1 sample to be kept by him for 150days. The second sample is sent to the laboratory while the third sample is stored in a locked cabinet in the health office.
i) Sample details are recorded in a form and an analysis request form has to be filled up.
The unit has to achieve a target of obtaining 700 food samples a year. The food safety and quality control unit comes under the jurisdiction of the following laws:
a) Akta Makanan 1983
b) Peraturan-peraturan makanan 1985
c) Kod amali kebersihan makanan
Field Trip- Food sampling
We arrived at Pasar Raya C-Mart at 10.30am. Before starting the inspection, we were all given VICO, the chocolate malt drink. This was great as many of us were very hungry. So, after being energised, we we ready to start the inspection. We were told to look for samples of rusty canned food, dented cans or expired food. Finally, a can of beans in tomato sauce and 3 cans of gourmet powder were taken as samples. The PPKP paid for the items and kept the receipt. We were then showed how the samples were labelled and the necessary forms were filled. The samples were taken for physical investigation so it did not need to be divided into 3 parts. The analysis request form was filled and the samples were to be sent to USM Penang for the laboratory investigations. To wrap up the session, we took a group photograph and dispersed for our lunch break!
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