Day 7 (22.2.11) - Glorious Food

by Navanitha Chandrasekaran

I woke up from my nice cozy bed at about six in the morning with a tingly feeling of excitement passing through my veins. It will be another lovely day to begin with my wonderful friends.

As the daily routine goes, we left our campus at 7.00 AM, heading towards Kota Star District Health Office. I looked outside the car window, astounded at the colour of the sunrise sending rays of light bouncing of my gleaming boat and hitting me in the eyes, knocking me back almost blinding me. The eye-catching scenery and greenery came to an end as the exhaust notes rumbling from the engine stopped. We have reached our welcoming Health Office.

After having a breathtaking journey, we assembled in the Food Quality Control Unit according to the schedule which has been given by our coordinator, Mr. Zaki on the very first day. There was a great excitement among us as we were eventually going to be assigned with a division involving food today.  Food...food...glorious food... Well, who would not be anticipated when they hear the word food. As our mouths were flooded with salivation, we were greeted by Mr. Musa bin Hasan, Assistant Health Inspector (Penolong Pegawai Kesihatan Persekitaran- PPKP) of the Food Quality Control Unit.

             Mr. Musa gave us a warm welcome to his division. He introduced the division to us by explaining the activities and responsibilities of the unit. Then, the discussion went on where we were told about the Premise Inspection. But, unfortunately we were unable to go to the food premises for Premise Inspection as Mr. Musa had an errand that needs to be done which was the e-blast operation (Ops Basuh).  In fact, he could not be very long with us. The entire unit were involved with this operation. Ops Basuh was an operation done in entire Malaysia under the umbrella of Ministry of Health in order to inspect the cigarette selling processes in 
shop outlets and food premises.

~ Mr.Musa bin Hasan briefed us on the roles & responsibilities of Food Quality Control Unit ~

Therefore, Mr. Musa handed us over to Mr. Wan Qaiyim bin Wan Izaham, Assistant Health Inspector (Penolong Pegawai Kesihatan Persekitaran- PPKP). Mr. Wan brought us to a market around 9.00 AM in order to expose us to the food sampling procedures. Green leafy vegetables weighing one kilogram were collected and sampled to test for the presence of pesticide. The sellers were given money for each sample which has been collected. Sampling was done in the morning in order to obtain a fresh sample. It was a routine activity of this unit. According to Mr. Wan, these food samples would be then send to the Laboratory of Food Analysis, Kangar in order to analyze contents or presence of pesticide in the vegetables. Each sample was sealed completely and labelled by means of record maintenance. After going to the field, we headed back to the Health Office where Mr. Wan explained the procedures and protocols of food sampling. All the doubts and the questions were cleared with the help of Mr. Wan.

~ Food sampling of vegetables in a market ~

~ Labeling of food sample ~

 

~ Paper bags used for collecting sample ~

              ~ Health Officers sealing the paper bags ~

Very soon after that, which was around 11 AM, we followed the teams involved in e-blast Operation (Ops Basuh). We were divided into three small groups consisting of four persons each where each group followed a team in a different location.

v  First group consists of Kishean, Poobalan, Kogil and Leong Chi Mun.

v  Second Group consists of Nelson, Tan Chia Hong, Ong Han Yi and Navanitha.

v  Third group consists of Gomalaa, Mohanajothi, Punitha, and Tineshwary

Inspection was conducted on shop outlets and food premises where the sales of cigarette were present. Two crucial criteria were taken into account which were:

v  Signboard showing, “No smoking below the age of 18”.

v  Notice showing minimum price of cigarette.

~ Sign board showing ' No smoking below age 18years & notice of minimum price of cigarettes ~

Premises who failed to follow these rules or regulations were fined by the Health Inspectors where else to those who did not have a proper signboard or notice was given a warning. The operation went on until 1.00 PM. Soon after that, we were dismissed by the Food Quality Control Unit and we had our lunch in a vegetarian restaurant. After having our delicious lunch, we headed back to the district health office.

~ Improper placing of the signboards ~


 ~ Health inspector issuing fine on a shop owner ~

We reached the District Health Office around 2.30 PM. Since Food Quality Control Unit was busy with e-blast Operation, we took this opportunity and time available to go to the Health Promotion Department. The office was filled with pamphlets and posters regarding health. We were allowed to take the pamphlets available. After spending our time in this department, we headed back to our campus at 4.30 PM with valuable information and precious knowledge which will enhance the moulding of a good doctor.

“Try not to become a man of success but rather to become a man of value”

-Albert Einstein-