Update :
11 dec 2011
Amazing ! I don't know if it is a coincidence,or if someone extremely influential is reading my blog.Or a little bird passed the info to those who wield the big stick.
This weekend,marked the first time that the Giant in Penang Plaza was smell free,the floors of its Prangin outlet actually CLEAN ! Same case for Tesco. NO STENCH !
Thank you to you,whoever you are,for taking time out to read all the poundings from my heart.Woah,you really went ahead and did something about it.
------------------------------------------------------------
I wouldn't just play the broken record in KR1M stores alone.
A check on their website shows just two stores on the mainland.One in Bagan Serai,the other at Air Tawar,Butterworth.Pretty insignificant if you ask me.
Everyone knows that Tesco,an arm of Khazanah,dares sell food products of questionable standards.It is so easy to adopt a German cockroach especially at its E-Gate outlet.
I once bought some Meatyfoods sliced ham from its deli that was tough as plastic and tasted like Maling luncheon meat.Another time I made the mistake of picking up some Gourmessa halal breakfast sausages near the cheese section,that made me utter PKM.
Its presence in Tg Pinang brought out the worst in the many makan places I patronise.
The quality of the 'fresh' eggs lining their shelves are a horror story waiting to be told.
Especially when it comes to flour related products bought from this retailer.Mamak canai and malay kuih is now as chewy and tasteless as a Jewish diet.
Also,Cold Storage and most Giant stores,run by hongkies, are notoriously infested with rats.Their chiller department displays spoilt meats and rotten vegetables.Both have non halal delis stocking fresh gone sour choices.
When the Mawai brand of fresh milk from Johor first made its debut and started selling out faster than hotcakes,they decided to substitute it with their in house First Choice brand thinking that we're stupid.Their milk has not been selling.
All three places are reknowned for rotting perishables.
Grocery shopping at the Sunshine Group, is like a hit and miss episode.After a bad experience,I now avoid buying potatoes from there.
Inspected the Bandar Baru supermart in Pulau Tikus and found its chiller to be full of decaying greens.
Pacific has a problem with an unsavoury stink emenating from the butcher's area.
I hardly shop at Mydin,Econsave and Carrefour,thus it would be unfair of me to compare.
Let's look at the list of recalled products
And what happens when that ends up in our stomach.
Going through the list,I tell myself to remove teh tarik,tosai ghee,cheap ice cream,unbranded breakfast jams,just about every chinese chu char dish,cheap canned sardines,cheap canned curry chicken off my list.
But,that's about IMPOSSIBLE
As well as another matter altogether.
The question is NOT a matter of why major newspapers hushed up,Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai's confirmation as to the existence of E. coli bacteria in the 1Malaysia fresh milk.
But why just confine the attack exclusively to KR1M stores when surely the bloodbayers must know,that there are many spoilt apples and eggs in the basket as well.Unless they leave it to their maids or close one eye as long as kiamsapness does the job of saving for them.
-------------------------------------------------------
No Charge For KR1M
The Sun (Pauline Wong)
PETALING JAYA (Dec 6, 2011): The suppliers of Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia (KR1M), which has been hit by food item recalls, will not be punished for mislabelling the products – despite this being an offence under two food laws.
Health Ministry director-general Datuk Seri Hasan Abdul Rahman confirmed that the KR1M management has been told to remove 13 affected products from its shelves and relabel them accordingly.
Mislabelling or providing inaccurate information on a product’s nature and content is an offence under the Food Act 1983 and Food Regulations 1985. Those found guilty face a fine or three years jail term under the Food Act, and RM5,000 fine and maximum two years’ jail, or both under the Food Regulations 1985.
Pressed again if KR1M suppliers will be charged, Hasan replied, “No, we have asked them to relabel the affected products.”
However, the decision not to charge KR1M has riled the Federation of Malaysian Consumer Associations (Fomca), whose president Datuk Marimuthu Nadason berated the ministry for its lack of action.
A senior official of the Domestic Trade, Consumerism and Cooperatives Ministry, which oversees the KR1M initiative nationwide, said it had no jurisdiction over food items. The officer, however, said, “We are serious about asking suppliers to adhere to Health Ministry regulations.”
The officer said the mislabelling could be a mistake born of ignorance as many suppliers were small-medium enterprises and stressed that it was not a food safety issue.
However, Marimuthu claimed mislabelling was not the only concern and hit out at the management of KR1M, which sells generic household items and foodstuff at up to 50% cheaper than other house brands.
“We want those who are responsible for these stores to follow the standards and regulations as laid out in the Food Act and Food Regulations,” he said.
He said the intention might have been noble, but the products must be capable of building “confidence” among consumers or it would go to waste.
The products sold at the KR1M came under scrutiny after several opposition MPs raised issues of contamination, misleading food labels and products not compliant with regulations.
On Saturday, the Health Ministry ordered 13 KR1M branded products – fresh milk, sweetened condensed creamer, condensed milk, oyster-flavoured sauce, fruit jam, canned chicken curry, mango cordial, ghee compounds, peanuts, peanut butter and sardines – removed from the shelves for relabelling. It also confirmed that the KR1M fresh milk tested positive for E. coli bacteria contamination, a strain of bacteria which cause food poisoning.
Following this, KR1M management said in a statement on Sunday that it will re-test some 250 products. It said the tests for all 250 1Malaysia products would cost up to RM300,000 and be borne by the suppliers and manufacturers.
Marimuthu said Fomca had tested the products and will present its results to the Domestic Trade, Consumerism and Cooperatives Ministry on Thursday. He did not reveal what the tests were, but said he would clear up the matter and seek assurance of consumer safety.
When contacted, Mydin Mohamad Holdings managing director Datuk Ameer Ali Mydin said the management had taken appropriate action to address concerns, starting with recalling the mislabelled products.
Mydin manages the KR1M stores, including supplies. “Like any responsible retailer, when there is an issue with the products, the priority is to recall the products and return to the market as soon as possible,” he said.
He dismissed concerns over food safety, insisting that it was only mislabelling, and added that some of the products had been relabelled and put back on the shelves. Ameer Ali said consumers who bought any of the 13 recalled products could return them for a full refund.
11 dec 2011
Amazing ! I don't know if it is a coincidence,or if someone extremely influential is reading my blog.Or a little bird passed the info to those who wield the big stick.
This weekend,marked the first time that the Giant in Penang Plaza was smell free,the floors of its Prangin outlet actually CLEAN ! Same case for Tesco. NO STENCH !
Thank you to you,whoever you are,for taking time out to read all the poundings from my heart.Woah,you really went ahead and did something about it.
------------------------------------------------------------
I wouldn't just play the broken record in KR1M stores alone.
A check on their website shows just two stores on the mainland.One in Bagan Serai,the other at Air Tawar,Butterworth.Pretty insignificant if you ask me.
Everyone knows that Tesco,an arm of Khazanah,dares sell food products of questionable standards.It is so easy to adopt a German cockroach especially at its E-Gate outlet.
I once bought some Meatyfoods sliced ham from its deli that was tough as plastic and tasted like Maling luncheon meat.Another time I made the mistake of picking up some Gourmessa halal breakfast sausages near the cheese section,that made me utter PKM.
Its presence in Tg Pinang brought out the worst in the many makan places I patronise.
The quality of the 'fresh' eggs lining their shelves are a horror story waiting to be told.
Especially when it comes to flour related products bought from this retailer.Mamak canai and malay kuih is now as chewy and tasteless as a Jewish diet.
Also,Cold Storage and most Giant stores,run by hongkies, are notoriously infested with rats.Their chiller department displays spoilt meats and rotten vegetables.Both have non halal delis stocking fresh gone sour choices.
When the Mawai brand of fresh milk from Johor first made its debut and started selling out faster than hotcakes,they decided to substitute it with their in house First Choice brand thinking that we're stupid.Their milk has not been selling.
All three places are reknowned for rotting perishables.
Grocery shopping at the Sunshine Group, is like a hit and miss episode.After a bad experience,I now avoid buying potatoes from there.
Inspected the Bandar Baru supermart in Pulau Tikus and found its chiller to be full of decaying greens.
Pacific has a problem with an unsavoury stink emenating from the butcher's area.
I hardly shop at Mydin,Econsave and Carrefour,thus it would be unfair of me to compare.
Let's look at the list of recalled products
- fresh milk
- ice cream
- evaporated milk
- sweetened creamer
- ghee
- fruit jam
- oyster sauce
- canned sardines
- canned curry chicken
- Bumblee Bee brand of tuna from thailand
- cereals,dried legumes
- Baba's curry powder
- ready to consume birds nest
- ready to drink chicken essence
- most sardine brands
- canned mushrooms
- locally produced Campbells Soup in tin
- all Munchy's brand of coffee products
- London biscuits
- every cheap flour brand
- Gardenia and High Five white sliced breads which never turn mouldy even after 2 weeks in the open
- rejected food products from mainland china and hongkong,repacked and sold in Giant stores
- First Choice,Gooday,Marigold,Dutch Lady fresh milk and fresh chocolate milk
- hams and sausages sold in delis at Cold Storage and Tesco stores
- various cheap single packed sliced cheese brands
- long cabbage,round cabbage,brocolli,cauliflower sold at Tesco
- carrots,potatoes,smoked garlic from Sunshine
- fresh chicken,beef,fish and offals sold at Tesco,Cold Storage,Giant.
- eggs supplied to all hypermart chains
- all cordials and chilled juices
- mouldy mushrooms and strawberries sold at Tesco and Giant.
And what happens when that ends up in our stomach.
Going through the list,I tell myself to remove teh tarik,tosai ghee,cheap ice cream,unbranded breakfast jams,just about every chinese chu char dish,cheap canned sardines,cheap canned curry chicken off my list.
But,that's about IMPOSSIBLE
As well as another matter altogether.
The question is NOT a matter of why major newspapers hushed up,Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai's confirmation as to the existence of E. coli bacteria in the 1Malaysia fresh milk.
But why just confine the attack exclusively to KR1M stores when surely the bloodbayers must know,that there are many spoilt apples and eggs in the basket as well.Unless they leave it to their maids or close one eye as long as kiamsapness does the job of saving for them.
-------------------------------------------------------
No Charge For KR1M
The Sun (Pauline Wong)
PETALING JAYA (Dec 6, 2011): The suppliers of Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia (KR1M), which has been hit by food item recalls, will not be punished for mislabelling the products – despite this being an offence under two food laws.
Health Ministry director-general Datuk Seri Hasan Abdul Rahman confirmed that the KR1M management has been told to remove 13 affected products from its shelves and relabel them accordingly.
Mislabelling or providing inaccurate information on a product’s nature and content is an offence under the Food Act 1983 and Food Regulations 1985. Those found guilty face a fine or three years jail term under the Food Act, and RM5,000 fine and maximum two years’ jail, or both under the Food Regulations 1985.
Pressed again if KR1M suppliers will be charged, Hasan replied, “No, we have asked them to relabel the affected products.”
However, the decision not to charge KR1M has riled the Federation of Malaysian Consumer Associations (Fomca), whose president Datuk Marimuthu Nadason berated the ministry for its lack of action.
“Shame on the Health Ministry for not taking firm action. The law is the law. There can be no double-standards (in this matter).
“Our food regulations are some of the best in Asia but if they look good only on paper, without implementation, you might as well disregard them,” he said.
A senior official of the Domestic Trade, Consumerism and Cooperatives Ministry, which oversees the KR1M initiative nationwide, said it had no jurisdiction over food items. The officer, however, said, “We are serious about asking suppliers to adhere to Health Ministry regulations.”
The officer said the mislabelling could be a mistake born of ignorance as many suppliers were small-medium enterprises and stressed that it was not a food safety issue.
However, Marimuthu claimed mislabelling was not the only concern and hit out at the management of KR1M, which sells generic household items and foodstuff at up to 50% cheaper than other house brands.
“We want those who are responsible for these stores to follow the standards and regulations as laid out in the Food Act and Food Regulations,” he said.
He said the intention might have been noble, but the products must be capable of building “confidence” among consumers or it would go to waste.
The products sold at the KR1M came under scrutiny after several opposition MPs raised issues of contamination, misleading food labels and products not compliant with regulations.
On Saturday, the Health Ministry ordered 13 KR1M branded products – fresh milk, sweetened condensed creamer, condensed milk, oyster-flavoured sauce, fruit jam, canned chicken curry, mango cordial, ghee compounds, peanuts, peanut butter and sardines – removed from the shelves for relabelling. It also confirmed that the KR1M fresh milk tested positive for E. coli bacteria contamination, a strain of bacteria which cause food poisoning.
Following this, KR1M management said in a statement on Sunday that it will re-test some 250 products. It said the tests for all 250 1Malaysia products would cost up to RM300,000 and be borne by the suppliers and manufacturers.
Marimuthu said Fomca had tested the products and will present its results to the Domestic Trade, Consumerism and Cooperatives Ministry on Thursday. He did not reveal what the tests were, but said he would clear up the matter and seek assurance of consumer safety.
When contacted, Mydin Mohamad Holdings managing director Datuk Ameer Ali Mydin said the management had taken appropriate action to address concerns, starting with recalling the mislabelled products.
Mydin manages the KR1M stores, including supplies. “Like any responsible retailer, when there is an issue with the products, the priority is to recall the products and return to the market as soon as possible,” he said.
He dismissed concerns over food safety, insisting that it was only mislabelling, and added that some of the products had been relabelled and put back on the shelves. Ameer Ali said consumers who bought any of the 13 recalled products could return them for a full refund.
