IPOH, May 14 — State executive councillor A. Sivanesan today said that consumers should go ahead and advise hawkers who handle food without wearing gloves.
The state Health, Consumers Affairs, Civil Society, National Integration and Human Resource Committee chairman said there is nothing wrong as consumers have the right to demand for clean food as they are paying for it.
“It is mandatory for hawkers to wear gloves when handling food. Customers have the right to tell them to wear gloves. It is impossible for authorities alone to tell them,” he said.
Speaking to reporters after leading checks at a Ramadan bazaar at Stadium Perak here today, Sivanesan said based on his observations many bazaar operators failed to wear gloves.
“We will not take any action today but action will be taken from tomorrow if the traders are found to be flouting the law on food safety,” he added.
On the checks, Sivanesan said it was a routine exercise held in conjunction with Ramadan.
“Since May 13, we have checked 1,704 stalls, out of which 1,575 achieved 80 marks,” he said, adding that the Health Department also took 61 food samples.
“Fifty-four of the samples were sent for microbiology analysis, five for chemistry testing and two for physical analysis,” added Sivanesan, noting that continuous monitoring and checks would be carried out to ensure cleanliness of food served.
