Food safety in Malaysia is not considered an issue yet. From the previous year (2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015) records, the incidence rate of food poisoning had been fluctuating and despite that, cases continue to occur especially among school students. As a developing nation, it is high-time that Malaysia begins to emphasize on food safety to reduce the burden of foodborne illness in the socio-economic development of the country, and at the same time, gain benefits in terms of economic returns and trade through food safety enforcement. Most importantly, public health is achieved through food safety implementation and accentuation. The current standing point of the Malaysia's food safety is discussed in this review. In addition, the review will also discuss the role of academicians as intervention contributions in tackling food safety issues. The review is hoped to provide valuable and concentrated information and knowledge to readers in the light to drive Malaysia into ensuring safer food for the public.

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The eating of fresh and minimally processed vegetables is getting popular among Malaysians. This trend poses an increased risk of food poisoning associated with the consumption of fresh produce contaminated with pathogenic bacteria. Salmonellosis is a foodborne disease caused by several non-typhoidal Salmonella enterica serovars, predominantly serovars Enteritidis and Typhimurium. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of Salmonella spp., S. enterica serovar Enteritidis and S. enterica serovar Typhimurium in fresh leafy vegetables such as cabbages (n = 40), lettuces (n = 20), and fruit vegetables such as tomatoes (n = 40), carrots (n = 40) and cucumbers (n = 40), which were sold by three different hypermarkets and a wet market in Kampar, Perak, Malaysia. The study was performed over a period of 13 months (January 2018 to January 2019). A combination of most probable number-multiplex polymerase chain reaction (MPN-mPCR) method was used to quantify the concentrations of Salmonella spp., S. enterica serovar Enteritidis and S. enterica serovar Typhimurium in the examined samples. The results of this study demonstrated that of the vegetables tested, tomatoes, carrots and lettuces were not contaminated by Salmonella spp., S. enterica serovar Enteritidis and S. enterica serovar Typhimurium. However, the presence of Salmonella spp. was detected in 3.3% of cabbages from the hypermarket, with estimated microbial loads ranging from <3.0 MPN/g to 15.0 MPN/g. On the other hand, S. enterica serovar Typhimurium was detected in 10.0% of the cucumbers from hypermarkets and 20% of them from the wet market. Their microbial loads were ranging from <3.0 MPN/g to >1,100 MPN/g. This indicated that cabbages and cucumbers could be the potential sources of salmonellosis. Therefore, the monitoring of food safety and hygienic practices should be strictly enforced by relevant government agencies to avoid potential poisoning by foodborne pathogens.

Shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli bacteria are well known to be the pathogenic bacteria that cause traveler diarrhea. E. coli O157: H7 from the group of Shiga-toxin producing E. coli cause even severe infection which can lead to fatality for humans. In this study, local beef and Indian buffalo were selected to determine the presence of Shiga-toxin producing E. coli and E. coli O157: H7 using Most Probable Number-Polymerase Chain Reaction (MPN-PCR) method. Among 108 samples, eight (7.41%) samples from local beef and Indian buffalo were detected a positive on E. coli O157: H7 while thirteen (12.04%) samples were detected positive for Shiga-toxin producing E. coli gene. Out of 108 samples, eleven isolates of E. coli O157: H7 were successfully isolated in order to carry out the antibiotic susceptibility test. Shiga-toxin producing E. coli isolates were found susceptible to ceftazidime (100%), moxifloxacin (83.33%), sulphamethoxazole (66.67%), ampicillin (50%), amoxycillin (50%), ciprofloxacin (50%), erythromycin (33.33%) and penicillin G (33.33%). E. coli O157: H7 isolates were susceptible toward erythromycin (100%), ceftazidime (100%), ciprofloxacin (100%) and moxifloxacin (100%), sulphamethoxazole (60%), ampicillin (20%), amoxycillin (20%), and penicillin G (0%). The safety of both local beef and Indian buffalo was challenged by the presence of both Shiga-toxin producing E. coli and E. coli O157: H7. Better and safer ways of removing the pathogen from local beef and Indian buffalo should be researched more deeply.

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Microwave oven is an indispensable tool in every household. However, the proper usage of the microwave ovens was neglected and thus, causing food safety concerns, especially microbiological hazard in microwaved heated food. Therefore, a survey was initiated to gauge the consumer's knowledge of microwave oven safety concerning the food safety of reheated food. A total of 29 survey questions was designed that covered 5 demographic questions and 24 others on the knowledge and practice of microwave oven safety and food safety attitude. The survey was blasted out to 329 respondents via email. Overall, 189 (57.4%) returned respondents demonstrated low level of knowledge of the microwave oven safety, which indicated improper education of the microwave oven despite knowing the norms on the microwave oven usage. In addition, consumers demonstrated low levels of practicing microwave oven safety. The outcome of the survey also showed consumer's neutral attitude towards food safety. There was no statistically significant association between the variables and demographic. The minimum knowledge of microwave oven and food safety shown by the consumers requires the attention to improve the food safety educational programs by including the knowledge on microwave oven safety for the betterment of the public health.

Level of Campylobacter jejuni from naturally contaminated chicken liver and chicken legs in various task: a cross contamination study AbstractCross contamination is one of the most important contributing factors in foodborne illness originating in household environments. The objective of this research was to determine the transfer between naturally contaminated chicken liver and leg to cutting board, hand glove, knife and cucumber, during slicing. The microorganism tested was Campylobacter jejuni and the results showed that the pathogen transferred to all utensils, at different transfer rate, despite the low level of the naturally contaminating pathogen. With unknown concentration bacteria in the naturally contaminated samples, a proportion of the utensils were still contaminated with C. jejuni and not surprisingly, when the sample were contaminated with higher concentrations of the pathogen, a higher proportion of the utensils had detectable C. jejuni cells present, though in many cases cross contamination seems to be a random event. Transfer of the naturally contaminating C. jejuni from the chicken liver and leg to the utensils were <3.0 to 9.2 MPN/g and <3.0 to 3.0 MPN/g, respectively. The results of this study highlighted the potential for cross contamination of food borne pathogens in the kitchen environment.

The ubiquitous of Listeria monocytogenes in the environment and in the niche of foods can be related with the ability of the pathogen to survive in adverse conditions, in example, low temperature and pH, high concentrations of salt and bile, oxidative stress and carbon starvation. Besides, most of the human listeriosis are food-borne and L. monocytogenes consists of a spectrum of strains with varying virulence and pathogenicity. Moreover, the virulent regulators play a role in facilitating better adaption or persistence of L. monocytogenes in the food environment. This review included prevalence, pathogenicity, survivability and antibiotic resistance of L. monocytogenes in various categories of foods such as meat, seafood, dairy products and vegetables. The recent updates on listeriosis or foodborne cases associated with L. monocytogenes should be studied in order to have a better understanding of their persistence in the food chain and its public health impact especially among the high-risk groups: elderly, infant, pregnant woman and immunocompromised individuals.