Roti canai makers in dilemma over gloves ruling

FMT KUCHING: Roti canai makers in Sibu are in a quandry over a new ruling requring food handlers to wear gloves.
The Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) has advocated for all food handlers to adopt a stringent level of hygiene and cleanliness including the wearing of gloves.
The council’s decision came in the wake of increasing cases of hand-foot-mouth-disease (HFMD) in the state.
Earlier this week it was reported that the number of HFMD cases in Sarawak was heading towards an outbreak.
Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai said the accumulated number of such cases for the first seven weeks of this year was 806, compared to 213 cases during the same period last year.
Although Sibu had no reported cases at the time, Liow said Kuching reported the most HFMD cases with 295 cases, followed by Bintulu (112), Betong (85), Samarahan (70) and Miri (65).
The ministry had recommended that food handlers be more careful and practice good hygienic.
Whilst gloves were practical for most other food handlers, roti canai makers however are uncomfortable.
For these men, the adjustment has its danger and could even affect the taste of the highly popular Malaysian bread.

Gloves will affect taste
One roti canai maker said gloves would not only slow down their hand movements but they also risk having their palms burnt.
“This will not only slow us down but the taste of the roti canai will be compromised as well. The (cooking) pan is very hot and if you put on plastic gloves, the heat can easily melt them.
“When that happens, our palms will get burn,” Rahman told a local daily here.
Rahman, who runs a restaurant, was quick to state that cleanliness was an essential part of his business and that he insisted his workers practiced a “high standard of hygiene and cleanliness”.
“But be mindful that wearing of gloves may not be feasible for all occasions.”
Meanwhile another restaurant owner S Gunalan said it would be too troublesome to make roti canai with gloves.
“This is because there are various hand techniques involved in the food preparation.
“We do agree that food handlers such as those preparing noodles need to use rubber gloves but not for roti canai makers.
“In all of my life, I have never seen roti canai makers using gloves,” Gunalan said