S
Sun Jian
Guest
Jun 11, 2010
M'sia eatery re-used straws
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<!-- end left side bar --> <!-- story content : start --> GEORGE TOWN - A RESTAURANT here has been caught re-using drinking straws for its customers.
Penang Municipal Council officers were horrified when they saw a worker washing the straws during a spot check on eateries in Pulau Tikus on Wednesday. ‘He told us they were going to reuse it. We were shocked and gave him a stern warning,’ its public health standing committee member Ong Ah Teong said.
They returned to the restaurant later to verify that their instructions had been followed, he said. He warned that restaurant owners who committed such misdeeds could face closure. They would be given warning ‘but if they still ignore it, they could face a fine of RM100 (S$42.80),’ he said. ‘If they persist, we will lodge a report with the state Health Department to shut the place down,’ he said when contacted on Thursday.
Several people who have come across such situations said people should look out for signs of bite marks on the straws to make sure that they were not ‘recycled’. It is learnt that some restaurant workers would even resort to cutting off the tips of straws and reuse them again Communication manager
Josey Wong, 35, said she found bite marks on her straw while having her meal at a popular food outlet. ‘I asked a waiter about it and he admitted that the restaurant would recycle drinking straws… This is unhygienic as some people use the straw to pick their teeth,’ she said.
