Germany is not the only country dealing with a rash of food poisoning cases in its schools this year. At the Sabah Food Safety Carnival, held over the weekend, Malaysia’s deputy health minister said there have been 39 food poisoning incidents involving 849 students in 16 Sabah schools through October.
Sabah, with more than 3 million people, is one of 13 states that make up the nation of Malaysia. It is located on the northern end of the island of Borneo. Only the state of Sarawak in the southwest is larger. According to the Daily Express of East Malaysia, which covered the conference, incidents of food poisoning in the schools is actually down from a year ago when there were 45 episodes at 17 schools involving 944 students. The newspaper said the deputy health minister, Datuk Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin, told the conference that new more effective mechanisms have been put in place as controls as every level of the supply chain for school food. “The control involves inspection activities at each of the food chain level ranging from raw material, processing premises, distribution centres and transportation vehicles,” the deputy minister said. She added that the Health Ministry is monitoring food being sold domestically and being imported from the 1983 Food Act and 1985 Food Regulations. The 1983 Food Act was adopted to protect public health and prevent cheating, she said. Malaysia requires food handler training, vaccinations, and medical check-ups under its 2009 Food Hygiene regulations. The deputy minister said the best school canteens are now being recognized with awards to promote good practices. The goal of the Food Safety Carnival was to increase awareness by individuals on food safety issues.
