BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (Borneo Bulletin/ANN): Food infested with maggots during the Royal Procession last Sunday mainly affected public servants participating in the event. There were also some isolated cases affecting students.
Minister of Home Affairs Dato Seri Setia Awang Ahmaddin Abdul Rahman as Acting Minister of Education said this during a press conference on Saturday.
Packed food was catered to 23,800 students and 15,700 public servants. Some 775 bread buns supplied to three schools were also not suitable for consumption, the minister added.
Awang Ahmaddin said the Ministry of Education coordinated the distribution of packed food. Tender was opened based on the stipulated criteria such as cost and the willingness to supply food, and 18 companies distributed the food based on the zones assigned.
Meanwhile, Minister of Health Dato Seri Setia Dr Mohd Isham Jaafar said consuming foul food can cause gastroenteritis.
However, upon monitoring by the Ministry of Health following the event between, no cases of gastroenteritis were detected in the participants.
The only food poisoning recorded was from viral infection which was not related to the food supplied during the event.
Dr Mohd Isham said companies that received the tender should have taken food hygiene seriously, and that cooperation was paramount when other stakeholders and parties were involved. – Borneo Bulletin/ANN