KUALA LUMPUR – A preliminary check by the Health Ministry (MoH) on a batch of Meadows bottled drinking water from Malaysia, which has been recalled from the Singaporean market, found that it was not sold in this country.
The ministry’s Food Safety and Quality senior director Mohd Salim Dulatti said his division was in the midst of acquiring further details from the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) on the product recall.
“MoH took note on the recall of the product as reported on SFA’s website on December 3. The report said SFA had ordered the product to be recalled after it was found to be contaminated with the Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacterium.
“The product involved is the 1.5L bottle with an expiry date of November 9, 2022,” he said in a statement here today.
The Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacterium is a common environmental bacterium and can be found in water, faeces, sewage and soil. It can cause various illnesses to humans, especially those with a weak immune system.
“However, food products contaminated with this bacterium seldom cause health problems to healthy individuals,” Salim said, adding that the factory producing the product has the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point certification and licence for packaged drinking water from the ministry.
He stressed that packaged drinking water must comply with Regulation 360B of the Food Regulations 1985 under the Food Act 1983.
He said Section 13 of Food Act 1983 stipulates that any person who prepares or sells any food that contains any substance which is poisonous, harmful or injurious to health, shall be liable to a fine not exceeding RM100,000, or a jail term not exceeding 10 years, or both, if convicted. – Bernama, December 7, 2020
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