Home-based Online Food Business in MCO

The most common business which we can transformed during MCO is food business, where almost everybody can do, as long as we can cook nice food. Look around us, many of our friends started to promote their new food products during MCO at whatsapp or facebook. Many of us does not have enough experience in handling food because we were from other profession before MCO. So, there is a question - do we know how to have a proper food handling, for business? Do we overlook the right way of handling food and focus only to earn a living?

We should look into the food handling practices seriously. People who did not concern about food safety would overlook the hazards in preparing food because they think what they are preparing is correct, until food poisoning cases happen...There is a young lady in Terengganu suffered from severe food poisoning (until she pass away) after she consumed the expired food product that she bought online. This incident had raise the concern of Ministry of Health. The ministry is looking into regulating all home-based online food business. All home-based food producer should register with MOH and follow a new food safety guideline.

This guideline is stating the know-how and procedures that a market place owner, admin, food organizer, food owner, food handler, food delivery and consumer that receive foods ordered online should do along the supply chain, to keep the food safety in place. Some of the guideline are basic knowledge from Food Handler Training Course, such as the auto-closed waste bin, the correct attire and the pest control. Thus, if we wish to understand the guideline better, it is best to attend Food Handlers Training Course in advance to understand the food handling principles. After that, it would be easy for us to understand the importance to follow the guideline.
Anyway, the 2009 Food Hygiene Regulations also stated that food handlers should attend Food Handlers Training Course and obtaining certificates. Both certificate and the Typhoid vaccination had become a must in every inspection and the food safety program. Thus, as long as we are food handler, especially when we want to be food business owner, in this MCO, we should have the Food handlers Training Course certificate.

The Home-based Online Food Safety guideline is equipped with a checklist for us to do self-check if we have all the preparations, the practices, the devices for doing the business. The similar checklists also available for food safety program such as MeSTI, GMP and HACCP. Each checklist has Food Handler Training Course as the checking criteria.

Knowledge is power. Only with knowledge, we can build up wisdom to build our food business. Food safety is undeniable in food business. It helps to maintain or grow your food business. Without correct food handling practices, we could lose customers and we might face legal actions from the authority.

Credit: 

1. The Star.
2. Ministry of Health