Food contamination and hygiene practices in the supply chain industry
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 600 million (almost 1 in 10 people) in the world fall ill after eating contaminated food and 420,000 die each year. In April 2018, the Malaysian Ministry of Health (MOH) recalled two brands of canned sardines from China due to contamination with dead worms. Just a month later, Malaysians were shocked by a viral video about poor food handling and lack of hygiene at a restaurant in Kuala Lumpur. The Ministry of Health and local authorities had carried out 289,919 checks at food outlets across the country as of May 2018 and found that 5,587 (2%) of the outlets, which include restaurants and food outlets, were dirty and dirty. closed under Section 11 of the Food Act 1983. These reflect poor hygiene practices and a lack of management to provide adequate hygiene facilities for both employees and customers in food establishments.
As food contamination problems rise alarmingly in Malaysia, it is critical to advocate for raising food safety and hygiene standards from farm to fork. Rentokil Initial, a world leader in hygiene and pest control solutions, is committed to championing this cause and recently invited customers from various industries to attend the Pest and Total Hygiene (PATH) workshop in Penang, Johor Bahru and Kuala Lumpur, with the topics “Achieving Sustainable Supply Chain Risk Management” and “Raising Hygiene Standards”.
In the supply chain system, everyone plays an important role in ensuring food safety standards. Contamination can occur at any point along the supply chain from raw materials, production, distribution and all the way to the customer’s plate. The causes of food contamination can be difficult to trace and range from pest infestation, unhygienic food handling practices and also storage problems.
Carol Lam, CEO of RI Malaysia, said: “The world’s population will reach 8.6 billion by 2030, and due to the globalized supply chain, supply chain risk management has become more challenging than ever. That’s why Big Data and science – Integrated Pest Management (IPM) based on good hygiene practices can come together to help you achieve sustainable risk in the supply chain.”
As new technology continues to innovate food processes, data transparency and traceability become more important to ensure food safety standards are met. At the recent PATH workshop, Rentokil Initial also collaborated with the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the global food safety audit body, AIB International, to share food safety legislation as well as prerequisites.
Having identified the problem of food contamination, the Ministry of Health continues to emphasize the importance of adhering to food safety legislation. Partnership between the government and key players from various industries in the supply chain will ultimately help to better take a proactive approach to managing food safety risks in Malaysia.
“To achieve food safety standards, all industries in the supply chain must comply with the Prerequisite Program (PRP) through the implementation of prerequisite food safety programs such as sanitation, good manufacturing practices ( GMP), allergen control, integrated pest management (IPM) and others IPM is one of the most crucial components and Rentokil Initial addresses pest control needs through ERDM execution: process execution, restriction, destruction and monitoring”. said Anthony Raschke, director of quality control for AIB International
If you want to minimize the risk of food contamination in your business, it is important to hire the right partner for your hygiene and pest control management solutions. Rentokil Initial, a trusted partner for hygiene and pest control solutions, believes in protecting people and improving their lives always.