Food Safety Grade in Malaysia
As per Food Hygiene Regulations (FHR) 2009, it is mandatory for every owner and occupier involve in food preparation/manufacturing premises to establish a Food Security Assurance Program. It is a regulation enacted according to Section 34 of the Food Act 1983. The purpose is to give assurance to end user the food is safe and quality. There are few type of Food Security Assurance program – GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice), HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point), ISO 22000 (Food Safety Management System). However to some of the SME or SMI found it is challenging in implementation.
This is where Ministry of Health (MOH) is introduce MeSTI scheme which is fulfil the minimum requirements of Food Hygiene Regulation 2019 for SME & SMI.
MeSTI – MeSTI Secure Food Certification Scheme, is a simple scheme to fulfil the minimum requirements of Food Act. Food preparation premises will be guided in developing and implementing the scheme in their operation. It is sponsor by government which FREE for the whole implementation and granting certificate. To apply, food premise must be registered with MOH. You can submit your application online in this link – http://fsq.moh.gov.my/v6/xs/page.php?id=203
GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) – Process must be clearly defined, documented, controlled, monitoring and record. Environment aspect like air, water, ventilation, light, Waste, temperature, etc need to have proper control to prevent contamination. Operators/food handler must be trained on the GMP knowledge how to control the person hygiene. Warehouse/storeroom pest control needed. Initial ingredient/raw material check point. Product need to have a traceability system which can be recall if any contamination, and complaints must be examined to prevent re-occurrence.
HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) – HACCP applies to any organisation involved directly or indirectly in the food chain and pharmaceutical industry. HACCP has 7 principles:
- Conduct a hazard analysis
- Determine critical control points (CCP) where loss of control may result in an unsafe product
- Establish critical limits for each critical control point (CCP)
- Establish CCP monitoring plan, procedure and record
- Establish corrective action plan
- Establish record keeping procedure
- Establish verification program to ensure the effectiveness of HACCP system
ISO 22000 (Food Safety Management System) – ISO 22000 standard is an international standard developed by International Organisation of Standard (ISO). It is a framework that combines prerequisite programs, GMP, the HACCP principles and application steps as described by the Codex Alimentarius Commission and elements of the ISO 9001:2000 standard.
