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By Karen Bong
KUCHING, Aug 11: Food and beverage premises found to be infested with cockroaches, rats and rodent droppings will be promptly shut down, while food handlers exhibiting poor personal hygiene, such as having long nails or failing to wear the proper attire including caps or other hair restraints will face an on-the-spot compound of RM100 for each offence.
With that, Padawan Municipal Council (MPP) chairman Tan Kai reminded food and beverage operators and premises under its jurisdiction not to take the significance of cleanliness and hygiene lightly.
This, he emphasised, extends beyond the immediate premises and encompasses their surroundings, including back lanes where operators are mandated to maintain a daily cleaning routine to eliminate waste and must install grease interceptors to effectively trap waste.
If deemed necessary, he said they can request MPP’s assistance to flush the drainage system.
“Council enforcement officers and the health officers conduct checks and inspections throughout the year at all food premises and if they found any non-compliance, operators will face the consequences including closure and compound.
“There have been cases where shops were ordered to close due to poor cleanliness and hygiene this year, including at 4 1/2 Mile area. When that happened, premises will have to carry out thorough cleaning and sanitisation before applying for an inspection to regain permission to resume operation,” he told reporters after officiating at the closing ceremony of a programme on Food Premises Health, Environment and Cleanliness at MPP Headquarters here today.
The seminar, conducted by an officer from the Kuching Health Department, aimed to motivate and assist selected Grade B licensed food premises in enhancing their cleanliness standards, safety protocols, and overall food and beverage quality to achieve a Grade A status.
Tan explained that there are over 300 licensed food premises, excluding hawker centres, in MPP jurisdiction, with Grade B premises accounted the highest with 187, while over 100 have achieved Grade A and fewer than 10 with Grade C status.
“With this programme, we hope the participating premises will make substantial improvement and upgrade to Grade A. We also want to see those with Grade C make improvements to Grade B,” he added.
Aligned with the MPP’s 2021-2025 Strategic Plan and its commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), proactive measures are being taken to promote cleanliness and hygiene initiative across all food premises in eight localities under MPP’s purview. — DayakDaily
