Kedah School Canteen Operators To Undergo Health Checks

BALING, July 6 (Bernama) -- The Health Ministry will conduct health checks on all school canteen operators in Kedah soon, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said.
He said health authorities would scrutinise the cleanliness of the premises and places where food was stored as well as personal hygiene practices of food handlers to ensure they met health standards.
"We take a serious view of the increasing number of food poisoning cases among school students in Kedah and we'll conduct thorough checks to address the problem," he told reporters after launching the Parent-Teacher Day organised by Baling MCA here Thursday night.
Dr Chua said Health Department teams would act against errant canteen operators.
To date, 1,000 students in the state have reportedly come down with food poisoning after consuming contaminated food at their school canteens.
Dr Chua supported the move by the Education Ministry to revoke the licences of canteen operators whose operations led to food poisoning.
"Schools with suspected food poisoning cases should close the operations of the canteens for two weeks pending checks by the Health Department," he said.
Dr Chua said food poisoning would likely occur when cleanliness was not a priority resulting in the contamination of food.
"School canteen operators can't simply say this is not their fault," he added.