1.0 BACKGROUND

Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Health Office is an organization under

the administration of the state health department and the Ministry of Health (MOH).

KLIA Health Office starts to operate on 30th June 1998. KLIA is located about 50 km

from Kuala Lumpur, 40 km from Seremban and 75 km from the town of klang. KLIA

HealthOffice is located at Level 1, Administration Building of KLIA. KLIA has been

operated since 27th June 1998 and the area was about 20,000 hectares. Currently,

KLIA can accomodate passengers of more than 40 million people covering an area of

Lower Carrier Cost Terminal (LCCT) . KLIA Health Office is headed by health

officer, Dr Haji Azmi b Haji Abd Rahim. Instead of the main office, KLIA Health

Office also operates in another three building which is at the Main Terminal Building,

Free Trade Zone Complex and Cheap Fare Terminal.

1.1 KLIA HEALTH OFFICE OBJECTIVE

To prevent entry of diseases into the country and ensure that imported food comply

with the food consultancy in the country through promotive health services, efficient

and effective prevention and control method.

1.2 KLIA HEALTH OFFICE MISSION AND VISION

Kuala Lumpur International Airport Health Office mission is:

To create a healthy nation by providing a fair, equitable, efficient and quality health

services. Activities carried out are to ensure that there are no entry of communicable

and non-communicable diseases into Malaysia through continuous involvement and

participation of all parties.

Kuala Lumpur International Airport Health Office vission is:

Towards a health ountry to Achieve Vision 202.

2.0 FOOD SAFETY AND QUALITY UNIT

Food safety and Quality (Premises) Unit is one of the unit under Kuala

Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Health Office.

2.1 FOOD SAFETY AND QUALITY UNIT OBJECTIVE

The three main objective of Food Safety and Quality Unit is :

- To protect the public against health hazards and fraud in the food

preparation, sale of food, food consumption and any other matters related

to it

- To ensure all imported food complies with the requirements under the

Food Act 1983 and Food Regulations 1985.

- To store, process analyze and records related data related for the

implementation of a more comprehensive and efficient health programs for

the purpose of enhancing the effectiveness of health services at the

entrance.

3.0 FOOD PREMISES

In the whole area of Kuala Lumpur Internationa Airport (KLIA), there are a total of

133 food premises. The highest number of food premises is located at the Main

Terminal Building with 30 units, while there are 17 units in both the Satellite Building

and KLIA Downtown, 19 units at the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT), 20 units at

South Support Zone and other areas has 2 units of food premises.

Basically there are two in flight caterer to serve foods in flight which are LSG

Sky-Chef Brahim Sdn Bhd and KLAS Inflight Catering. However, the main in-flight

caterer is LSG Sky-Chef Brahim Sdn Bhd which operates a much bigger catering

compares to KLAS Inflight Catering.

Figure 1: Location of Food Premises in KLIA

4.0 LAW/REGULATION/GUIDELINES

There are several law/regulation/guidelines used by Food Quality and Safety

(Premise) Unit which are:

- Food Act 1983

- Food Regulation 1985

- Inspectious Disease Prevention and Control Act 1988

- Peraturan Kawalan Hasil Tembakau 2004

- Food Hygiene Practical Code

o This practical code is no longer use by since the enforcement of

Food Hygiene Regulation

- Food Hygiene Regulation 2009

o This regulation will be formally enforced in KLIA starting from

year 2013. With the enforcement of this regulation, health of

officer of KLIA Office has the power to compound any contravenes

in KLIA which was previously done by Sepang Local Authority.

Before the enforcement of this regulation, KLIA Office only has

the power for closure of any premises that did not achieve the

standard based on the assessment done the Health Inspector.

5.0 ACTIVITIES

The are several activities carried out by Food Quality and Safety (Premises) Unit.

Generally, the activities carried out are :

- Conduct inspections of 33 units of food premises every month which in

total there are 360 premises to inpect in a year.

- Responsible for the closure of any unhygieneic food premises in KLIA

- Take food sample according to the schedule that has been set by State

Health Department. In a year, approximately 89 sample will be taken

which consist of 66 for micro sample and 23 for chemical sampling.

- Carry out physical examination on the food sold in market to ensure that it

complies with Food Regulation 1985. This examination also goes to any

kiosk located in the KLIA area. Example of examination that will be

carried out are looking at the food product sold whether it is over the

expiry date or not.

- Plan activity and monitor level of cleanliness of food premises in Sepang

F1 circuit and take food samples to analyze. The food premises in Sepang

F1 Circuit are temporary which will only be open during events held there

and the cleanliness of the premises will be inspect during the time the food

premises is operating.

- Preparing monthly report fot State Health Department before the 7th of the

coming month.

- Work in Unit of Air Accident if there is an accident or emergency call

during office hour which also known as ‘On Call’ among the staff.

4.1 MAIN ACTIVITY

4.1.1 Use Of Assessment Form

The assessment form used during the inspection of food premises is a standardized

form by Ministry of Health (MOH). The inspection are mainly on the hygienic and

cleanliness of the food premises. Example of things that will be assessed and be given

ratings according to the performances are food storage,employee’s health and clothing

(Typhim VI Injection, Basic Training on Food Handling), cleanliness of the

equiptment and utensils, structure cleanliness (floor, wall and wash ceiling), sewage or

drainage syatem, the cleanliness of the premise structure such as floor, wall and

ceiling, waste managemnt of the premise and pest control.

The assessment are using dimerit method where the total marks for the

assessment is 100 percent. If the premises does not complies with any of the standard,

demerit will be given to them. Any food premises that gets marks below 65 percent

need to close their premise immediately. They are given two weeks for cleaning

process and need to to do the assessment again. The premise will be allow to re-

operate if the marks for the re-assessment is above 65 percent.

4.1.2 Food Sampling

This activity is carried out to sample pathogenic microorganism and chemicals as

stated under the Food Regulation 1985. Sampling will be done according to the

schedule that has been set up by the State Health Department.

For the analysis of pathogenic microorganisms, the sample taken will be send

to food lab in Klang. Pathogenic microorganisms that will be analyzed in the food

sampled are Coliform, Escherichia Aureus, Staphylococcus, Bacillus Cereus and also

Salmonella.

The analysis of chemical in food the sample will be send to Department of

Chemistry in Petaling Jaya to analyze chemicals in the food. Chemicals that will be

look in details through the analysis is preservatives, coloring substances, food

standard, drug residue, heavy metal and afltoksin.

The person in charge for taking food sample need to ensure that they follow all

the steps and guidelines for food smapling so that the food sample will not be

contaminated with other contaminants. Precaution steps need to be taken are like

wearing the full protection equiptment (PPE) and submitting the sanple to the lab

within 24-hours. The method of sample should not be taken lightly. If the person in

charge at the food lab notice any contravenes from the real method of sampling

bubbles in the such as there are air bubbles, the sample will be rejected.

Figure 2: Example of Formal Food Sampling for Microorganism Analysis

4.1.3 Food Premises Closure

The closure of food premises is based on assessment done on the food premises. If the

food premises did not achieve 65 percent and above of the assessment, the premises

will be ordered for closure immediately. This action as stated under Section 11, Food

Act 193 (amended) 2001. The closure of the food premises is for 14 days which is for

the cleaning process of the premises. Once the cleaning work is done, the food

premises owner could apply for re-assessment which could be done within the 14 days

of the closure. If the officer in charge satisfies with the level of current cleanliness

which means that they achieve at least 65 percent for the re-assessment, the food

premises is alloew to operate again. If the owner disobey the closure subordinant, they

can be imposed sentence to jail nt exceeding five years or can be given penalty or

both.

5.0 CONCLUSION

Ensuring the cleanliness and hygienic of all food premises in the boundaries of Kuala

Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) not just for convenience of the consumers but

what more important is to control and prevent the occurrence of any foodborne

disease. Thus, inspections and assessments of the food premises is required to make

sure that all food premises keep their premises in a hygienic conditons. Food sampling

is also necessary in order to analyse any contamination in food sold in KLIA.

1.0 BACKGROUND

LSG Sky Chefs Brahim’s Sdn Bhd (“LSGB”) is a joint venture between Malaysia

Airline System Berhad, which holds 30%, and Brahim’s-LSG Sky Chefs Holdings

Sdn Bhd (“BLH”), which holds 70%. BLH is in turn a joint venture between

Tamadam,which holds 51%, and Lufthansa Sky Chefs, which holds 49%.

LSGB’s flight kitchen in KLIA occupies an area of 600,000 sq ft and sits on a

28 acre property. It was formerly known as MAS Catering Sdn Bhd. Founded in 1972

and provides in-flight catering as well as related services at Kuala Lumpur

International Airport (“KLIA”) and Penang airport.

LSGB has a 25 year concession to provide catering and related services to

MAS at both KLIA and  Penang airports and also has a 25 year tenancy for the sole

flight kitchen at KLIA and the flight kitchen at Penang airport. LSGB has other airline

customers besides MAS. It serves 35,000 meals daily at KLIA and 1,000 meals daily

in Penang to 30 international airlines. Operating 24 hours daily, it has about 2,000

employees.

1.1 lsg sky chefs brahim’s mission

LSG SKY Chefs-Brahim’s aims to be a world class halal & quality In-Flight Service

provider and to exceed customer expectations.

1.2 lsg sky chefs brahim’s vision

To be the premier global of quality catering and intergrated inflight solution

Figure: Shareholder in LSG Sky Chef Brahim

2.0 SERVICES PROVIDED

LSGB’s watchwords are Halal, Quality and Safety. Meals prepared by LSGB are

100% halal and hygienic and are the best meals in terms of taste, quality and variety.

All food is prepared the Islamic way with LSGB exporting its Halal knowledge by

running Halal kitchens on a joint-venture basis around the globe.

Not only are the raw ingredients Halal with meats and poultry slaughtered in

the prescribed Islamic manner, but all meals produced are free of pork and pork by-

products such as gelatine and lard. The method of preparation of all foods is in

accordance with Islamic principles. Vegetables must be free from non-Halal

contaminants right from the farm.

Strict standards of hygiene are maintained through the the International Food

Hygiene Standard and Practice. All kitchen staff wear hair nets, aprons and gloves

when handling food. Vegetables are washed in chlorine water baths as well as all the

equipment and utensils are sanitised and floors regularly disinfected.

LSGB also provided cabin handling services such as laundry services for

pillows and blankets, filling the cabin trolley with items for sale as well as providing

passenger headsets, newspapers and periodicals for passengers.

In fact, practically all food and items into which airline passengers travelling

from KLIA and Penang airports come into contact during their flight is provided by

LSGB. Many aircraft leaving for short haul flights from KLIA also load food and

items for their return journey due to lower cost.

2.1 Facilities

Facilities that provided by LSG sky chef Brahim including:

Catering Hi-Lift (Truck)

Automated Storage Retrieval System

Roll Plant Making Bread

Oven Room

Kitchen Equipment (Tilting Pan)

Vegetables Washing Machine

Halal Dispenser at Warewash Area

Power and Free Transport Meals Cart at Tray Setting to Assembly Area

Storage Perishable Item at Cold Room

Food Testing Microbiological Lab

Lab Facilities

4.0 FLIGHT KITCHEN OPERATION

Flight kitchen production is a typical form of mass catering, but has some unique

features distinct from food preparation in restaurants and hotels. The time difference

between food production in the flight kitchen and finally serving it on board an

aircraft with limited kitchen facilities makes flight catering a high-risk food

preparation operation. The complexity of the production procedures in the flight

kitchen also increases the microbiological hazards associated with this type of food

preparation. Major factors affecting the hygienic quality of the food are the size of the

operation, the complexity of the in-flight service, the number of airlines catered for,

the number of flights serviced during the day and the duration of the flights to be

serviced.

Frozen meals may be carried if an aircraft is using food from its homeland

during the return leg. In general, there is a growing trend in preparing frozen meals for

aircraft. Economical and production considerations as well as hygienic reasons favour

frozen meals. Microbiological examination of a batch can be carried out before it is

used, thus ensuring the safety of the food. Using frozen meals reduces the likelihood

of the temperature reaching the critical limits within which the bacterial growth may

occur.

Flight kitchens normally use a cook-chill system for the preparation of cooked

items. Cooked items are then rapidly chilled in blast chillers, within 4 hours from

60°C to 5°C. LSGB maintains three separate kitchens which is hot, cold, and pastry

and bakery kitchens. A cold kitchen is used for the preparation of snacks, appetisers,

salads and desserts. Until portioning and packing, all prepared items are kept chilled.

After making up the meal trays, the trays are loaded into a trolley for the flight. If

necessary, trolleys are loaded with dry ice in order to minimise the temperature rise in

the aircraft galley before the food is served.

Figure: A typical flow chart for flight kitchens

5.0 CONCLUSION

The official control of flight kitchens depends on the national legislation of the

country where the premises are located. Flight kitchens are subject to different

requirements depending on the legislation of the country concerned. The authorities

responsible for controlling flight kitchen operations must have good knowledge of the

special features of this type of mass catering.