The Ministry of Health takes a serious look at the issue of dumping, the safety of food donated to charity homes

PUTRAJAYA: The Ministry of Health (MOH) takes seriously the issue of dumping and the safety status of food donated to charity homes and tahfiz centers that can cause food poisoning.

The Ministry of Health in a statement today informed that it is aware of the issue that was reported in the local newspaper two days ago.

“KKM takes the issue raised seriously and requests all parties involved in donations and donation recipients to always prioritize food safety to avoid any poisoning incident that could harm the recipient’s health,” according to the statement.

The Ministry of Health through the Food Safety and Quality Program (PKKM) always strengthens the control of food poisoning prevention at every level of the food chain including by developing Food Bank Food Safety Guidelines that provide guidance for the preparation of safe and quality food for donation purposes.

“Food donors should ensure that the food prepared is safe to eat and put information such as the date information, the time the food is ready to be cooked, the last time it must be eaten or the expiration date of the food before being eaten and the food safety message so that the food is eaten immediately within four hours after being prepared.

“Donors must ensure that the recipient receives early information regarding the food to be donated and ensure that the donated food is accepted by the recipient instead of being left without notification,” according to the statement.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health asks recipients of food donations to record information about the food received and to ensure that the food received is in good and safe condition in addition to practicing seeing, smelling and tasting when receiving food.

According to the Ministry of Health, the recipient has the right to reject the food received if the condition is damaged, the packaging is not perfect, there is no information on the donated food and the preparation time has exceeded four hours.

“Recipients are advised to eat donated food immediately and avoid storing food beyond the safe period,” according to the statement.

Last Tuesday, a local newspaper reported that several welfare centers around the Klang Valley seemed to be used as dumping grounds for food waste.

In the report, the Manager of Maahad Tahfiz Al-Quran Misbahul Falah in Taman Keramat, Kuala Lumpur, Mohd Suhairi Mohd Danan was quoted as saying that his side often faced the issue of receiving almost stale and frothy food that was supposedly donated.

These Food Bank Food Safety Guidelines can be downloaded from the Food Safety and Quality Program website at hq.moh.gov.my/fsq.

The Ministry of Health informs that it holds food safety briefings and delivers messages continuously so that the public is aware that serious food poisoning can be fatal.

For any food safety issues, users can contact any district health office, the nearest State Health Department or visit the website of the Public Complaint Management System (SISPAA) and the Food Safety and Quality Program (PKKM) Facebook page at http://moh.spab.gov .my or https://www.facebook.com/bkkmhq.