Malaysians, foods, and the food safety: A tale of love triangle.

There is a land where foods are next to paradise, multi-facet, Malays, Chinese, Indians, Ibans, Kadazans, Bajau and all live in harmony with the flavour of their foods can never be replaced by no matter what in the world. The taste of santan in nasi lemak, hot fried char kuey teow with blended shrimps paste, soaking roti canai with dhal curry, lontong, satay, nasi kandar, rendang, tempoyak and thousands of other mouthwatering cuisines that could melt the tongue. The restaurants in this land had never closed before, not even a single day. They operate at 24 h/ 7 days (before Covid19 days) where foods had never run out of supplies. It is the people of this land who celebrates, and foods are their celebrations. If still wondering where this heaven is, welcome to Malaysia, the land of food paradise.

As much as we can never argue on Malaysians’ love for foods, unfortunately, food safety and hygiene are the least concerned by many. The country is located along the line of the equator subjected to warm and humid climates throughout the year and can perfectly boost bacteria growth on foods. This can be backed with the reports released by the Ministry of Health (MOH) Malaysia which clearly shows increasing food poisoning cases and deaths every year. Negligence during the food preparation in the kitchen/ restaurants/ stalls is seen as the main reason. For instance, the preparation of foods well in advance prior to sale (4 – 8h), inappropriate food display at temperature danger zone, incorrect food cooling procedure and reheat of food at insufficient temperature are the major causes.

While restaurants in Malaysia are regularly subjected to inspection by the local municipal authorities, night market stalls and street stalls often escape such assessments. Thus, the hygiene status of foods being sold here is questionable. For instants, the Salmonella Typhimurium (harmful bacteria) outbreak in Kuala Terengganu’s night market (2014) was due to the food handlers negligence (improper raw material processing, storage, and cooking). A total of 169 food poisoning cases with one death was reported (1). In October 2018, Salmonella Weltevreden (another harmful bacteria) was found in the Laksa sold by ‘mi kuta’ in the Baling district of Kedah incurring 83 cases with two deaths (2). Ironically, there were many unreported cases as well.

How many of us took it seriously when we have gotten diarrhoea, vomiting and nausea after our favourite meal at restaurants or food stalls? Many would just rest for a day, allow our immune system to fight off and get back to our routine the following day. Some would visit the doctor and be prescribed medicines without knowing we had food poisoning. On top of that, declaring a foodborne outbreak is a tedious process that required stringent procedures, as such, local clinics often failed to report such incidence to the MOH. Thus, there are more food poisoning incidences compared to what is being reported.

The love affair among Malaysians, foods and food safety will continue to dangle within our society unless the policies pertaining to street vending and its underlying food safety are strictly enforced. The authority concerned especially the Municipal Councils should regularly provide guidelines and conduct training to the food handlers apart from amending the existing laws. Regular inspection and introducing the letter grading system similar to the restaurants in Malaysia may constantly gauge the cleanliness and hygienic level of the street stalls. This may significantly improve the bacteriological quality of the street foods sold in the night markets and street stalls in future.

1. Karim, B. A. et al. A Large Common Source Outbreak of Salmonella typhimurium Linked to Kuala Terengganu Night Markets, Malaysia, 2014. Outbreak. Surveill. Investig. Rep.10, 1–7 (2017).

2. N.A. Salmonella strain in Malaysian outbreak identified. Food Safety News (2018). Available at: https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2018/10/salmonella-strain-in-malaysian-outbreak-identified/. (Accessed: 22nd July 2021)