Food Poisoning By Foreign Workers

Almost all foreign workers tested in a study were found to be carrying microbes which could cause food poisoning and even death, and a small percentage of them harboured antibiotic resistant bacteria, said researchers. And temporary closure of dirty food eateries is not enough.

A recent finding by a team of researchers from Universiti Malaya, led by Assoc Prof Dr Siti Nursheena Mohd Zain, found a high prevalence of food poisoning bacteria on the hands of foreign workers working in the food service industry. The parasitologist said that from hand swabs taken from 383 legal migrant workers handling food in three cities – Ipoh, Kuala Terengganu and Shah Alam – almost all indicated a potential health hazard.

In the paper, “Microorganism as indicator of hygiene status among foreign food handlers in Peninsular Malaysia”, Dr Siti Nursheena and her team found a shocking 99.5% of workers sampled possessed high levels of Aerobic Plate Count (APC) exceeding acceptable standards.

The APC were higher among Indians followed by the Nepalese. The APC was also higher among cooks. It also showed that 64% of workers sampled had high counts of Staphylococcus aureus which ex­­ceeded acceptable levels of hygiene while one-fifth showed high levels of Escherichia coli (E. coli). Most of the time, Staphylococcus bacteria does not cause serious problems but can turn deadly if the bacteria enters the bloodstream, joints, bones, lungs or heart.

E. coli, a diverse group of bacteria, can cause diarrhoea, urinary tract infections, respiratory illness and pneumonia.

Recently, shocking images of unhygienic practices in some popular restaurants – from kitchen workers washing dishes using water from puddles in the back alley of a restaurant, to rat and other vermin infestation in some well-known eateries in Kuala Lumpur – had emerged, raising concerns on public health.

In another study using the same samples, it was found that 3% of workers carried non-typhoidal Sal­mo­nella and they exhibited resistance to a broad range of antibiotics.

“Antibiotic resistance is not new to Salmonella but it is a concern although the percentage is small because if you can’t treat it, you can pass it to others through bad hygiene and sanitation.

“A high prevalence of these hand-contaminating bacteria serves as an indicator of poor hygiene and reflects the degree of contamination of raw foods, equipment and the kitchen environments.

From 2002 to 2017, the Home Ministry recorded a dramatic increase of foreign workers from 1.06 million to 1.8 million. Of these, about 250,000 work in the service sector including in restaurants, an increase of 80,000 workers between 2010 and 2017.

Meanwhile, the number of undo­cumented foreign workers is not known but it is estimated at two million.