Amended law gives Health DG wider powers on food safety breaches

KUALA LUMPUR: The Health director-general will be given wider powers to publish information on food safety violations without first obtaining a court order under proposed amendments to the Food Act 1983, says Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.

Under the Food (Amendment) Bill 2026, convictions under the Act may be publicised in print or electronic media, while information on food that does not comply with the law may also be published in the interest of public safety.

The director-general will also be empowered to close premises where food that is harmful to health is prepared, stored or sold, Dzulkefly said when tabling the Bill for its second reading in the Dewan Rakyat on Thursday (Oct 8).

"Act 281 has never been comprehensively reviewed since it was first gazetted in 1983," he said.

Dzulkefly said the Act had been amended three times.

The amendments in 2001 and 2006 involved specific provisions to address enforcement issues and align the Act with the Criminal Procedure Code, while the 2024 amendment followed the enactment of the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Act 2024.

"The existing provisions under Act 281 are seen as no longer able to cope with current food safety challenges in protecting the people's health," he said.

Dzulkefly said these challenges included pesticide and antibiotic residues, excessive use of food additives, as well as emerging chemicals and pathogens influenced by climate change.

He cited World Health Organization estimates that contaminated food causes 866 million cases of illness and 1.5 million deaths worldwide each year.

The Bill will also extend controls to food contact materials and allow field verification of foreign food facilities after consultation with the exporting country.

It will also tighten controls on food brought into Malaysia for sale but declared as being for personal use.

Costs incurred by the government in carrying out action under the Act may be recovered from the owner, occupier, agent or employee of the premises concerned.

The Bill also clarifies the minister's power to make regulations on fees for certification under the Food Safety Assurance Programme.

Regulations made under the Act may carry penalties of up to RM25,000, imprisonment of up to five years, or both.

Dzulkefly said the Cabinet approved the proposed amendments in principle on March 19, 2025, before approving the Bill on July 22 this year.

He said public consultation was held from Dec 9, 2024, to Jan 8, 2025, while comments from World Trade Organization members were sought from Dec 19, 2025, to Feb 19 this year.