GEORGE TOWN – A 50-year-old bakery in Jalan Kedah here has been ordered to close by the state Health Department today after committing a slew of offences, including for displaying a “misleading” halal logo and failing to meet food hygiene standards.
Penang Health Department’s Food Safety and Quality Division environmental health officer Mohd Wazir Khalid said they found rat droppings and oil waste in a bread trolley.
“We found that the owners are using packaging with halal logo although the premises do not have a halal certificate.
“We also found rat droppings on the plastic packaging, and the situation is very worrying because of the possibility of contamination of products sold to customers,” he said after conducting Ops Bersih today.
Apart from the bread factory, the state Health Department also raided an 80-year-old noodle factory in Jalan Pintal Tali here due to hygiene issues.
Wazir said the factory failed to comply with the Food Safety Assurance Programme, including leaving processed food on the floor and unlabelled products, possibly exposing customers to health issues.
“The bread and noodle factories were raided last year, but we only issued compounds and warnings.
“But it seems that their offences are still being repeated. So, we have to close both premises for two weeks for cleaning purposes.”
The closure order was made under Section 11 of the Food Act 1983. The state Health Department also gave three compounds amounting to almost RM3,000 to both premises.
It is understood that the bakery and noodle factory only market their products in the state. – The Vibes, November 24, 2021
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