OUR UPDATED CERTIFICATION

 

ANOTHER NEW MILESTONE

It is my pleasure to announced that JACKYZ SOLUTION had moved into a new premise on 1 August 24.  The premise is located at Institute of Science and Management (ISM).  it is a nice place, equipped with nice facility.  I have an individual office where I can do my business planning and paper work quietly.  It's so happy to have a "new home".

When JACKYZ SOLUTION is formed at 2019, I was actively conducting on-site Food handling Course (FHC) training in client's premise and public training rooms.  Besides Tawau,  I had conducted training at Kunak, Lahad Datu, Bukit Garam, Sandakan, Kundasang, Pitas and Kota Kinabalu. I had also went to Mantanani Island to conduct training.  I enjoyed travelling to train food handlers, having delicious food, meeting good people, printing certificates to food handlers for their business usage.  On 2020, my training business dropped tremendously during national's Movement Control Order. Fortunately on May 2020, BKKM was allowing us to conduct online training on FHC.  This had open up another opportunity as I can conduct training for every Malaysian.  Although they are challenges while transforming the training mode, I was keen to settle the challenges one by one.  I am very thankful that customers like my training arrangement and I appreciate their trust on me.

On June this year, I was so happy to obtain HRD Corp trainer's accreditation.  I am planning to develop more food safety courses in future.  If you are paying HRD fund for your employees, you may send your employees to attend my future HRD CORP courses and you can just claim the course fee from your HRD fund.  isn't it great?  If you have any idea about food safety knowledge that you wish your food handlers to learn in future, you are most welcome to drop your suggestion in the comment below this blog.  I am preparing surveys in the near future and I hope that I can collect feedbacks from you soon.  In the recent years, I always encourage students to practise what they had learned in class.  By doing this, food handlers will start building good habits in handling food correctly and maintain good personal hygiene.  There are once a leader of mine ever told me: "When all food handlers have a correct mindset of food handling, everybody is a Quality Control (QC) in food premise".  So, when food handlers attended Food Handlers Training AND practising the knowledge in the workplace, that is true learning. Agree? 

I was so lucky to accept an invitation to conduct FHC for 50 food handlers at Kapalai Resort on July 24.  I traveled by their boat and I gave my best training to the food handlers in the resort.  I appreciated the hospitality, the arrangement and the trust from my customer.  Although it is in big group, but I was still able to deliver the certificates to the company in the next day of training.  I was so blessed to experience big group training again, since 2019.   

For the past 5 years, I had trained 2,578 food handlers in the whole country.  It's not a great number.  However, I will continue to provide the best training I could for the food handlers.  Should you nreed to arrange FHC training for your food handlers, welcome to check our schedule and fill up the participants detail, I will respond to you in an hour.

IS ONLINE OR ON-SITE FOOD HANDLERS TRAINING COURSE MORE SUITABLE FOR YOU?

My Online Food Handling Course (FHC) schedule falls on every Monday & Thursday. However, my customers can request to register the course of another day. This is the flexibility I offered to my customers. With that, they can actually attend the course without clashing with their business or working time.

 

On-site class on the other hand, may not be so flexible. First, customers need to abide to the set appointment and they have to arrive the set venue at the set time.  Due to FOSIM system upgrading several years ago, we need to apply the certificate number only after the class.  If students would like to receive certificates from us in the class, they need to wait for us to generate the certificates.  Whereas in online, participants just need to attend the class at their place with a laptop or smart phone, and I will courier the certificate to them the next day (at my cost). Online class is very convenient to us as we save travel cost. And, students can attend at their comfort.

 

Many Food Business Owners like my online class.  I guess most probably because of its convenience.  First, the training date and time could be negotiated.  For instance, if customer likes to register his / her food handlers to attend course at Tuesday as this day is their off-day, I could change the course date to Tuesday, about 1 week earlier.  After the students had registered the course, I will share You Tube video about how to get ready to attend my online class to them.  Some students watched this you tube before the class, and I noticed that student who appreciate the learning opportunity would know what to do in the class, and they will finish the class with good results.

 

I think the most challenging requirement of the ZOOM class for students is that they have to focus on the screen from the beginning of the class until finish.  They have to switch on the video all the time.  The entire teaching will be recorded and I will sent ZOOM recording to Health Dept for assessment.  As a trainer, I have the responsibility to make sure all students to focus the entire course. So, certain situations like student smoking, talking and laughing on other matters, turning off ZOOM video in ZOOM class, attending ZOOM class in vehicle and suddenly leaving the ZOOM screen are definitely unacceptable.  Students who didn’t understand the class rules (in fact it has been stated in the registration form) did gave me a big head ache…I had a very bad experience before. Due to some students’ non-compliance, it took me 6 hours to accomplish a 3-hours class! That was a very terrible experience. All of us are fatigue and some students gave bad evaluation on my teaching.   After several times of tolerance, I decided to remove students who didn’t complying class rule from my ZOOM class. May be some customers are not happy about it but I am sorry to explain that I have to follow the rules too. 

         

Some students encountered line disruptions problem in ZOOM class.  Sometimes it’s because the location which student sits does not have window.    And, sometimes it’s the Telco line problem.  On 2020, I was conducting an online course for only one student who join ZOOM class in inland of Sabah.  We are having line disruption many times and that’s is disturbing. That was because of location and the student cannot attend on-site class too. But, thanks GOD we finally managed to complete the class. I also found some students have problem with the device. Some devices, perhaps still in old version system, resulting the ZOOM not working smoothly.  Well, after several years of online class experience, I probably know that students with these technical problems would not be able to attend online course smoothly. So each time when I see these problems, I would advise students to attend my next class when they are ready. It’s not their fault of course but they are just not ready this time.       

 

Some students refuse to attend ZOOM class because they claimed that they are not a technology fan. In 2023, a customer told me that his food handlers do not know how to use ZOOM because they are non-educated.  Well, to confront this challenge, I then arranged an on-site course at his place. When I start showing the food handlers how to access Quizzes (for answering test), the food handlers enjoyed that very much.   Over the years, from my discovery, the wills to attend ZOOM class is very much depending on the student’s willingness to learn.  I had a 70++ years old student on early 2023.  She is not a technology-savvy. And yet she registered my class, she often asked me the know-how from the registration of the course until the end of class. Guess what, she is able to follow the entire online course and answer the tests correctly!  Not only that, she said she enjoy the online class and even gave me a good credit in my google testimony.  I have another OKU student last few months.  His mother is very worry that he cannot follow the class well.  But again, with my explanation, this boy able to focus in class, completing the course and even getting good marks for all the tests.  So, I believe that if students keen to learn, they will find the online course convenience and enjoyable.        

 

However, if students really do not enjoy online class, I am actually can conduct on-site class. Currently, I set my on-site class at the first Saturday of every month in my school. I had opened this for registration all the time.  If there are at least 10 students, I will confirm the class.  For physical class, students are just need to bring their smartphone! Yes! Students would answer the tests using their smartphone. Trust me, its gonna be fun!  I wish to conduct on-site classes at main cities in Sabah, like 2019.  If you have a group of food handlers who need to attend course, please feel free to contact me.  If you wish to join Food Handlers Training Course with your 20-30 friends that you have a idle chit chat when there is free time or during the waiting time of certificates, on-site class is your best choice.  

 

I enjoy delivering knowledge to students. I felt glad to see students able to answer questions correctly and give positive testimonies.  However, I always inform students in the class that marks are not so important here. But, practise YES.  Students should practise the food handling knowledge and build good habits in their workspace.    

 

Learning Food Handling knowledge at

https://mylink.la/jzsolution18

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

SHOULD HOME BASED FOOD BUSINESS OWNER TAKE FOOD HANDLERS TRAINING COURSE ALSO?

In a very early morning, I received a WhatsApp message from a prospect asking if she should also need to take Food Handlers Training course. She then introduced her new career to me – She had started a Home-Based food business recently.  That’s good and I congratulate her.  I was then explained that since she was doing food business, then she needs to have all the documents that a Food Business Owner ought to have.

 

Each food handler in a home-based food business must register a food handler training course.   Food handlers could learn about the requirement as a food handler and the basic concept in handling food. After the course, they could start to practise the concepts for building up a habit in their workspace.   When they had familiar with the food hygiene practice initially, they would always keen to handling food in hygienic and therefore to avoid food contamination.  Food handlers would be also given an Attendance Certificate after they had completed the 3-hour course. 

 

After the course, each food handler could visit clinic nearby, that providing anti-typhoid vaccination service to take the vaccination.  In some cities, the local municipal council might request food handlers to buy a small Health log book and bring that book to the clinic, some cities’ Health Departments are offering the vaccination service too.  Food handlers who had been vaccinated with anti-typhoid vaccine would have the immune against Salmonella typii bacteria for 3 years.  The doctors would record the food handlers’ details and the vaccination details in the health log book or vaccination card. 

 

The home-based food business owner should also register her premise in FOSIM.  Yes! Even you prepare your food product at your house, you still need to register your house as the food premise.  If you are setting up a company for this home-based business, you may wait until you obtain a trading license first then register your food premise. Otherwise, you may also register using your own name.  It’s a 15-min registration if FOSIM line is smooth and you received email from FOSIM admin in a short time.

 

Home-based food business owner should abide to Food Hygiene Regulation 2009. In fact, they could apply Home-based Food certification to elevate their customers’ confidence against the product’s food hygiene and food safety. With that, food business owner not only implementing hygiene requirement but it also helps to promoting their product – having a cake and eat it too!                         

 

 

 

 

  

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5 STEPS TO GET READY CLEAN EQUIPMENT

A food handler put a glass of hot water on our table after we ordered a meal.  I spontaneously replied: “Dik, kami tiada order air panas. Kami order Teh panas” The food handler smiles to us and said: “Bos, air panas tu untuk celup…” We then understand that the hot water is for sanitizing chopsticks, spoon and sauce plate.  We are happy to enjoy the food in the restaurant as the food handlers keen on handling food correctly.  The equipment is in good condition and clean.

 

Equipment in food premise are the tools, devices or machines for preparing food.  To ensure the hygiene of the food and contamination free, we ought to source smooth and easy to clean equipment, especially when there is food contact surface.  The food contact surface is the surface of the equipment that contact with food. For instance, the surface of a spoon that contact with rice.  Thus, when we are purchasing equipment for the restaurant or food factory, we should source the kind that easy to be clean. 
 
Do always check the condition of every equipment and repair the broken part.   Throw away the equipment if it couldn’t be repaired and replace it with a new one. Crevices on the equipment would easily trap left-over food, which would induce bacteria contamination.  And, when there is hazardous substance protruding from the broken equipment, it will harm consumers’ inner organ when they are using the broken equipment for meal
 
Wash equipment after using.  Make sure to wash them thoroughly. Do not allow food debris or dirt remain on hidden part of equipment.  Take a plate as an example, food debris might stay at the bottom of the plate. So food handlers must make sure the equipment is free of any food debris to avoid bacteria growth in it.  Having done that, do rinse with clean water to wash away the detergent and make sure that there is no detergent debris too.  When there is detergent debris, it is likely would cause chemical contamination on the food.  
 
The cleaned equipment should be dried naturally or to be wiped with clean towel.  The towel should be used only for wiping wet equipment only.  Do not use table rubbing towel or other usage towel to rub equipment so that to avoid contamination.  It is important to dry the equipment to avoid bacteria growth on the equipment.
  

The last step is to arrange the dried equipment tidily in a dry place.  A dry environment would avoid bacteria growth.  While arranging the equipment, food handlers could check the equipment condition.  And, they must make sure that their hands are clean while handling them.  At this stage, the equipment is ready to be used or to be served to the customers. At some restaurants, food handlers can arrange a glass of hot water for customer to sanitize the equipment, before using. 
 
Food handlers needs equipment for preparing food. Therefore, they should make sure the equipment is in good condition, clean and suitable to be used in food preparation, so to avoid food contamination.
 
    
   

IS YOUR FOOD HANDLERS WEARING THE RIGHT APRON?

I like to dine in in cafes and restaurants and I might spend hours in there doing paper work. There is a new café I visited last 2 weeks. The café is air-conditioned with nice decoration, clean and they are variety of food listed in the menu. But what impressed me the most is their food handler team’s attire.  Every food handler is wearing clean working uniform and apron, and they are well-groomed.    

Sometimes we noticed that food handlers wear dark colour apron.  I was actually doubt if the colour is acceptable as we are acknowledged that the apron in food industry should be in bright colour.  There was once I received an interesting information from a food handling course trainer, that if the food business team has rigid reasons of wearing dark colour apron, they could actually seek approval from FSQ division of MOH for doing so. For instance, if food handlers’ nature of work is using white flour, the dark colour apron would enable them to notice the stain easily.  Yeah. It makes sense.

 

Can food handler be wearing apron with pocket?  There is no black and write stating the apron design.  The chef, and food handlers in famous café are using apron with pocket.  I searched from the internet that, the reason being having pocket in apron is simply for food handlers to put things, such as pen and notes.  However, I think it is not proper to wear apron with pocket as we need to avoid food handlers from putting hand phone and money notes in it, which causing the pocket dirty. And food handlers’ hand would be contaminated when they put in hands in the pocket.  In food processing factory especially, food handler is not allowed to wear aprons with pocket.  Well, if wearing apron with pocket is allowed in food premise, may be food handler should always make sure the apron is washed frequently. What do you say?

 

Food handlers must wear clean uniform and apron every day.  They should also take off the apron and keep it in a clean wardrobe before leaving the food premise or visiting toilets. Otherwise, the aprons would be contaminated from dust, bacteria (especially in toilets) and other contaminants. If the apron is dirty, it will contaminate the food when food handler is handling.

 

Wearing clean apron is not just protecting food in preparation from contamination but also would leave a good impression for customers and good image of the company.  So, the management should ensure the food handlers team to wear appropriate and clean apron while they are handling food.    

 

         

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DISPLAYING NOTICE AND DOCUMENTS IN FOOD PREMISE

A close friend of mine visited me last week.  It’s his business trip.  He came to do some kind of audits against the outlets.  We haven’t seen each other’s for 2 years. So, I offered to fetch him at the airport and bring him to have good food in these days. 

We fixed the time to have good food together as we have work in certain time.  I brought him to a comfortable restaurant, that I had been visited for 2 times. The restaurant’s design is cool. It’s air-conditioned and we saw framed certificates hanging on the wall. These certificates are printed in the food menu as well.  Actually, I was impressed and convinced by these certificates about premise hygiene last time and decide to dine in.

Food handlers should display the framed food premise registration in the premise. Health inspectors would ask the food premise manager to show the documents each time they inspect the premise.  Some food premise displaying food handlers training course certificates and anti-typhoid vaccination card too.  Anyway, food premise manager may just keep these 2 documents of every food handler’s and to show the health officers upon their request.   

I like certain restaurants that have hand washing stations for food handlers and customers.  The hand washing station is consist of water supply, soap dispenser, tissue dispenser and a food activated waste bin.  Some restaurant owners installed hand dryer.  On this facility, food business owner could paste a hand washing posters to remind customers or food handlers to wash hands correctly.   

Food premise owners should display a PETS AND ANIMAL FREE poster or notice on the wall to remind food handlers or customers, not to bring / allow pets or wild animal to enter the food premise.  I guess, the reason that dogs stay in the restaurant is because customer feed the dog with bone after they consumed the food.   I knew a restaurant owner who has dog problem outside his restaurant.  The owner always educates his staff not to feed the wild dogs.  They gather the food leftover, bones etc and feed those wild dogs elsewhere.  He then calls the local municipals personnel to catch the dogs at his area.   
  
Food business owners and food handlers has the responsibility to maintain the food safety in the premise so that to avoid food poisoning.  


 
          
        

WHAT MAKES ME TO REVISIT THE RESTAURANT THAT I HAD VISITED BEFORE ?

 There was a restaurant at my residential area that sells delicious food.  And, I used to have breakfast at there when I do not have any reasons to go to out from my residential area.  The restaurant owner installed a TV in the restaurant. Each time when I visit the restaurant, the TV is playing good Hong Kong movies. And most of the time I was enjoying breakfast while watching the movies until the end of the show.

 

But I seldom visit the restaurant after MCO mainly because the food is cooled each time I reached there.  I know it’s good to go the restaurant early morning so that I can enjoy warm, delicious and safe food. However, sometimes I just can’t go out early morning due to some house chores, some paper works to do and so on.  By the time I reach there, the food is cool and not delicious.  So, normally when I just can come out from home after 8am, I directly went to town to source other breakfast.   

 

I didn’t visit that restaurant at all since another restaurant is set up on late 2022, until Feb 2024.  There a day, when I passed by that restaurant, I glanced a new stuff in it, which inspired me! The boss installed a Food Warmer! Few days later, I decided to try the food. I reach there, pick some food I like, the food handler put the food on plate and pass to me. So, I bring my food, take a fork and spoon and sit down on a table to have breakfast. Vow! The food is hot and delicious. Well, since then I always have breakfast at there. And, I saw that restaurant has many customers too. I think other customers have the same thought as mine.  The food tasted delicious when it is hot. Another point that attracted me is the price. The cost is cheaper but you will feel full because the food handler (sometimes the boss) gave more food quantity to the customers.

Food is safe when the food temperature is maintained at least 60^oC. On that temperature, it is very unlikely that bacteria could grow and contaminating the food.  This is a way to avoid food poisoning.  When we attend any buffet event, we will see food is kept in food warmer.  And, the food is covered to avoid contamination by dirty air or pest (the fly).  Well, how customers / guests take the food? Food Handler would place a big ladle besides each food container. Normally the ladle is placed on a plate.  So , the guest would take the big ladle to take the food and place on own plate, and then put it back on the plate. This is to avoid bacteria (by hands) on the ladle handle contaminating the food.
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When food business owners / managers want to serve food for a period of time, it is very crucial to arrange the food into food warmer so that customers can enjoy delicious and safe food. 

        

CAN MY WORKERS START WORKING AFTER ATTENDING FHC?

When my customers, who is also a food business owner call to register their food handlers to attend Food Handlers Training course (FHC), I used to share my other blog about the essential documents food business owners needs to have when they want to run a food business in Malaysia.  These documents are as a proof that they had comply certain requirements in Food Hygiene Regulations 2009.  However, there is another question arise when they comply these requirement -  Would food handlers handling food correctly after they attending FHC?

 

I always tell students in the beginning of the course that they would receive many information about food hygiene and food safety practice in the 3 hours course.  And, I encourage them to practice the knowledge in the workplace so that they can remember the concept and skills and eventually make the practices a habit.   If they do not do that, it is likely they will forget more than 75% of the course content.   For now, food handlers are just need to attend the course once in a life time. They do not need to go through a refreshing training.  So, if food handlers practice the food handling knowledge, they would improve and maintain the correct food handling practice.

 

Last 2 months, I had organized a practical food handling course for FREE. I invited my regular customers to attend the course. Although the response is not up to my expectation, I did it as I need to record the course for my HRD Corp Trainer assessment. There were several representatives from Amber Park Porridge Café and a retiree attending the course.  I am taking this opportunity to appreciate their supports in the course.  In the course, I design several activities for students to refresh on what they learned from me before. I was really happy when they still remember the correct food handling practice.  Some of them attended my course 3 years ago and yet they still remember the course content.

 

When food handlers understand the importance of food hygiene and food safety, and they practice it, day by day, they are actually building a habit and this help them automatically preventing their customers from suffering of food poisoning. And, they would attend future premise inspection confidently, as they know what should they do and what shouldn’t they do while handling food.

 

Well, what is the importance of getting your food handlers to maintain the correct food handling practice, from the aspect of business? Imagine when your food handlers concern about food hygiene and safety, they will make sure the handling does not cause food contamination and to prevent your customers from suffering food poisoning. With that, did you noticed that your food handler team is actually taking care of your business?   So, food handlers must have a strong foundation of food handling practice. And, this couldn’t be achieved by only attending a course.

One of the requirements of MeSTI holder is that every food handler must has a attendance certificate of Food Handlers Training Course.  The QC team, not only to arrange all new food handlers to attend the course, but they also design and organise internal training for every food handler. This is to ensure every food handler to have refreshing training so that they can always remember the correct way of handling their food products.

 

Some restaurant management team remind their food handlers about correct food handling by gathering the team in a weekly meeting, where they discuss various of circumstances and issues the food handlers team encounter daily.  And the team has mutual agreement of new job arrangement in the meeting.  There are also restaurants utilise checklist to check if certain practices are done.  For example, the cleaning checking in toilet.  This is also another good reminder for the food handler team to remember their responsibility to ensure hygiene.  MeSTI certifited food factory is practicing the checklist system intensively. They need to keep the checklist as the proof during audits or when there is a need to retrieve food inspection data.   

 

Therefore, practicing the knowledge of FHC content would gradually improving the food handling skills of food handlers and maintain the food hygiene and safety in food premise.   

HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION TRAINER

I never think about obtaining a certification to be a trainer of Human Resource Development Corperation (HRD Corp) , at least not now. With the current income, I am still unaffordable to add a new project in my humble company. But, thanks to Asiana Hospitality Academy for sponsoring me to join the 5-days Train-The-Trainer (TTT) course. This course had opened my eyes.
 
It was an online TTT course that I joined. The trainer and most of the participants spokes good English. I learned not only the art of presenting but also the skills of engagement with participants and the way to develop a course. I learned about Quizizz website. This is an interesting game that ease trainer’s job and assist trainer to engage with their participants. I applied it in my current teaching. You / your food handlers will find it fun when you guys joined my face-to-face class.
 
I had become a certified trainer of HRD Corp after passing a 10-min assessment at day-5 of the course. And, I had conducted a 4-hours training for my assisting students. Through the training, I realised that I can actually conduct a more practical training for my students. I understand that people just do not wish to sit for 3 hours to listen to what I say. They won’t join if they do not need a certificate, I know. So, with the skills I learned from TTT course, I am hoping to create more engaged course in my future classed.
 

 
I engaged a camera man to record the whole 4-hour session. And, I took about a month to prepare accredited trainer’s assessment ( by co-incidence it was Chinese New Year holiday) and I had just submitted the assessment reports and records to HRD Corp 2 weeks ago. I am now awaiting the approval of accredited trainer application. Hopefully I will pass so that I can bring my career to another level.
 
I am hoping to contribute my knowledge to the society in training career.