Malaysia
Ambassadors
Noor Zafira Noor Hasnan, PhD
Senior Lecturer/ Researcher
Universiti Putra Malaysia
Assoc. Prof. Dr. John Yew Huat Tang
Lecturer, Faculty of Bioresources and Food Industry,
Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Malaysia
Ambassador’s Report
Dr. Hasnan:
It is my vision to empower the food safety of the small and medium enterprises who make up the major establishments in the food sector at most part of the world. I believe the effort should begin with the awareness and proceeds through understanding, attitude, implementation, compliance and continuous improvement. Hence, it is the duty of the people trained in food knowledge including myself to deliver the efforts to the food industry community.
My ideas of contributing to the realization of GHI goal begins with providing awareness on food safety through seminars, articles, industry programs and lectures. This should include exposures to the negative impact when compromising food safety in the pursuit of profit or cost reduction based on the previous incidents. However, the awareness alone will not bring any fruitful progress towards the food safety practice. It is important for the local industry to be taught on the implementation. This can be simply a short guide or an infographic exemplarily on every element in Good Manufacturing Practice, translated into the local language and adapted to SME cognitive level. The guide can be delivered phase-by-phase for ensuring the effectiveness of understanding. Only through a sincere and effective implementation, the practice of food safety will lead to the production of wholesome food and eventually, achieve the food security.
Prof. Dr. Tang:
Microbiological food safety is an important issue locally and globally which affect economies and consumer health. Malaysia hot and humid climate provided suitable conditions for these microorganism to grow rapidly that cause food spoilage and foodborne illness. Each year, food poisoning outbreaks happen as a result of poor food handling, preparation, and unhygienic conditions. These incidence involves street food operators, restaurants, and caterers. Thus, it is my hope to improve food safety knowledge, attitude and practices among food handlers and consumers. Harmonization of food safety laws and regulations in Malaysia according to international standards will ease the trade of food produced into oversea market.
As GHI ambassador, translation of GHI goals and information into Malay language will enable wider readership not only limited to legislators, academician, researchers but also general public. I also write articles related to foodborne pathogens for local magazines such as Suara Saintis. I joined GHI Food Microbiology WG and Science Communication WG to enable effective discussion and information to address food safety issues globally. As every countries have different practices and challenges, it is very important to harmonize the policies.
Activities and Presentations
Dr. Hasnan:
Title: Spine Layout Design for Improving Food Hygiene and Reducing Travelled Distances in a Small-Scale Burger Patties Processing
Conference: International Conference On Agricultural and Food Engineering 2018 (CAFEi2018)
7th-9th November 2018 | The Everly Putrajaya, Malaysia
Website: http://www.cafei.upm.edu.my/
Conference: Malaysian Convention on Agricultural and Food Engineering 2019
21st March 2019 - 8 am to 17 pm | Wisma Tani, Government Administration Centre, Putrajaya Malaysia
Prof. Dr. Tang:
Title: Food Poisoning: Appearance Can Be Deceiving
Date: 30 August 2020
Event: Science Café KL
Location and Country: Facebook Live (Malaysia)
Link: https://fb.watch/7Qa_GA41HG/
Title: Food Safety
Date: 19 October 2019
Event: Meet the Expert by Petrosains
Location and Country: Petrosains (Malaysia)
Publications
Dr. Hasnan:
Book Title: Food Factory Design: Reality and Challenges Faced by Malaysian SMEs
Authors: Noor Zafira Noor Hasnan, Norashikin Ab. Aziz, Farah Saleena Taip, Norzima Zulkifli
Publication and Date: Agriculture and Agricultural Science Procedia, 2014
URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2210784314000473
Title: Spine Layout Design for Improving Food Hygiene and Reducing Travelled Distances in a Small-Scale Burger Patties Processing
Publication: Food Research, 2019
Authors: Noor Zafira Noor Hasnan, Norashikin Ab. Aziz, Farah Saleena Taip, Norzima Zulkifli
URL: https://www.myfoodresearch.com/uploads/8/4/8/5/84855864/fr-2018-149.pdf
Prof. Dr. Tang:
Title: Vibrio parahaemolyticus: a review on the pathogenicity, antibiotic resistance, foodborne outbreaks, and detection methods.
Date: 2021
Journal: Food Research
Link: https://www.myfoodresearch.com/uploads/8/4/8/5/84855864/fr-2020-479.pdf
Title: Campylobacter: Bakteria penyebab keracunan makanan dan penyakit autoimun
Date: 15 September 2020
Magazine: Suara Saintis
Link: https://www.majalahsains.com/campylobacter-bakteria-penyebab-keracunan-m...
Title: Prevalence and antibiotic resistance against tetracycline in Campylobacter jejuni and C. coli in cattle and beef meat from Selangor, Malaysia.
Date: 2019
Book: Foodborne Pathogens: Hygiene And Safety
Link: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/5580/foodborne-pathogens-hyg...