KUCHING: Thirteen notices have been issued against food operators for various offences under the Food Hygiene Regulations 2009 at Emart Batu Kawa Ramadan Bazaar.
All the notices were issued during an operation codenamed ‘Ops Ramadan 2024’, conducted by 20 members of the Kuching Divisional Health Office’s Food Quality Safety Unit and the Health Promotion Unit.
Kuching Divisional Health Officer Dr Johnny Pangkas, when contacted, said the offences detected included failure to wear full protective clothing, consisting of bright-coloured aprons, head coverings and appropriate footwear.
Additionally, some operators were found to be wearing personal jewellery such as watches, bracelets, pins or other accessories while handling food.
“Twelve notices were issued for non-compliance with the requirement for full personal protective clothing while one notice was issued for wearing personal jewellery during food handling.
“They were issued to food operators at Emart Batu Kawa Ramadan Bazaar,” he said.
Johnny added,” The units are performing inspections at every Ramadan bazaar by conducting food sampling, stall inspections and health promotion activities.
“These inspections cover areas under the jurisdiction of local authorities such as Kuching North City Commission(DBKU), Kuching South City Council (MBKS) and Padawan Municipal Council (MPP).”
As of today (March 14), a total of 152 stalls had been inspected.
Johnny revealed that 17 Ramadan bazaars were operational this year, with nine located in the DBKU areas, seven in the MBKS areas, and one in an area under MPP’s jurisdiction.
“Furthermore, three food safety briefing sessions were conducted for all Ramadan bazaar organisers and participants, according to the local authorities’ areas,” he said.
