<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Grading system for hawker hygiene 'sound'
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Minister says it has prodded foodsellers to improve cleanliness </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Amresh Gunasingham
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->THE A-B-C-D cleanliness grading system for food stalls is sound, robust and has led to higher hygiene standards here, Environment and Water Resources Minister Yaacob Ibrahim said yesterday.
In his first comments on the system since the recent Geylang Serai food poisoning case, he said it had worked well and rejected suggestions to switch to issuing 'Pass or Fail' grades.
He was also not in favour of taking away the licences of stallholders who do not score the top A or B grades.
He revealed that since its introduction in 1997, the grading system has resulted in better ratings for many hawkers.
At the start, many more food sellers scored C and D than A and B. Today, the majority of more than 5,600 stallholders in 106 food centres are rated A and B. Only seven are graded D, and 14 per cent, C.
There are two reasons for this, the minister said. One is that the current system prods those who get the lower C and D grades to shape up, especially if the stalls around them are rated higher.
He felt a simple Pass or Fail system would not tell the stallholder where he stood compared to others around him.
The other reason is that the grading system comes with a regime of inspections, hygiene awareness campaigns and enforcement.
There have been suggestions to penalise stallholders rated C or D, but Dr Yaacob thought this too harsh. 'Don't forget, these are people who depend on hawking as their livelihood,' he said.
=> And the Familee depends on them to fill up the $260B hole left behind by Daddy and butch-in-law?
He preferred to encourage those stallholders to improve cleanliness and was confident it would work.
Dr Yaacob, who spoke to reporters at the launch of a new $8 million fund to boost recycling here, said consumers could expect hygiene to improve as a result of the Hawker Centres Upgrading Programme.
Calling this a key pillar in the effort to improve hygiene standards, he said that whenever food sellers move from dingy old centres to spanking new ones, the improved ambience, design and layout make it easier for them to be cleaner.
The proof: 99 per cent of all hawkers who have moved to new premises scored either an A or B for cleanliness.
Hawker hygiene has been in the news since the worst mass food poisoning incident in Singapore occurred earlier this month.
Two people died and 152 others sought medical help after eating Indian rojak from a stall at the Geylang Serai Temporary Market.
Last week, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan suggested that food stalls at public hospitals should be allowed to stay in business there only if they score an A or B for cleanliness.
Asked about this, Dr Yaacob said Mr Khaw's comments were helpful, adding: 'We welcome such a move, and if more food establishments want to have a higher benchmark, that's their prerogative.'
=> In other words, u die is your own biz.
But he added that the National Environment Agency (NEA) has to deal with more than 5,000 hawkers of 'various quality and backgrounds' so he preferred to work in an evolutionary way while maintaining the pressure.
He pointed out that even hawkers rated D had to meet minimum hygiene standards, or they would not be licensed.
Dr Yaacob also said that everyone who patronises hawker centres has a part to play in lifting standards.
He said: 'If consumers decide not to patronise a stall with a grade C or D, a signal is sent to the stallholder that, 'Hey, I have to improve'.'
[email protected]
U kena POISONED is your own biz lah! Donch kar cheow my $$$million pay cheques ah! *chey*<!-- end of for each --><!-- Current Ratings : start --><!-- Current Ratings : end --><!-- vbbintegration : start -->
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Minister says it has prodded foodsellers to improve cleanliness </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Amresh Gunasingham
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->THE A-B-C-D cleanliness grading system for food stalls is sound, robust and has led to higher hygiene standards here, Environment and Water Resources Minister Yaacob Ibrahim said yesterday.
In his first comments on the system since the recent Geylang Serai food poisoning case, he said it had worked well and rejected suggestions to switch to issuing 'Pass or Fail' grades.
He was also not in favour of taking away the licences of stallholders who do not score the top A or B grades.
He revealed that since its introduction in 1997, the grading system has resulted in better ratings for many hawkers.
At the start, many more food sellers scored C and D than A and B. Today, the majority of more than 5,600 stallholders in 106 food centres are rated A and B. Only seven are graded D, and 14 per cent, C.
There are two reasons for this, the minister said. One is that the current system prods those who get the lower C and D grades to shape up, especially if the stalls around them are rated higher.
He felt a simple Pass or Fail system would not tell the stallholder where he stood compared to others around him.
The other reason is that the grading system comes with a regime of inspections, hygiene awareness campaigns and enforcement.
There have been suggestions to penalise stallholders rated C or D, but Dr Yaacob thought this too harsh. 'Don't forget, these are people who depend on hawking as their livelihood,' he said.
=> And the Familee depends on them to fill up the $260B hole left behind by Daddy and butch-in-law?
He preferred to encourage those stallholders to improve cleanliness and was confident it would work.
Dr Yaacob, who spoke to reporters at the launch of a new $8 million fund to boost recycling here, said consumers could expect hygiene to improve as a result of the Hawker Centres Upgrading Programme.
Calling this a key pillar in the effort to improve hygiene standards, he said that whenever food sellers move from dingy old centres to spanking new ones, the improved ambience, design and layout make it easier for them to be cleaner.
The proof: 99 per cent of all hawkers who have moved to new premises scored either an A or B for cleanliness.
Hawker hygiene has been in the news since the worst mass food poisoning incident in Singapore occurred earlier this month.
Two people died and 152 others sought medical help after eating Indian rojak from a stall at the Geylang Serai Temporary Market.
Last week, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan suggested that food stalls at public hospitals should be allowed to stay in business there only if they score an A or B for cleanliness.
Asked about this, Dr Yaacob said Mr Khaw's comments were helpful, adding: 'We welcome such a move, and if more food establishments want to have a higher benchmark, that's their prerogative.'
=> In other words, u die is your own biz.
But he added that the National Environment Agency (NEA) has to deal with more than 5,000 hawkers of 'various quality and backgrounds' so he preferred to work in an evolutionary way while maintaining the pressure.
He pointed out that even hawkers rated D had to meet minimum hygiene standards, or they would not be licensed.
Dr Yaacob also said that everyone who patronises hawker centres has a part to play in lifting standards.
He said: 'If consumers decide not to patronise a stall with a grade C or D, a signal is sent to the stallholder that, 'Hey, I have to improve'.'
[email protected]
U kena POISONED is your own biz lah! Donch kar cheow my $$$million pay cheques ah! *chey*<!-- end of for each --><!-- Current Ratings : start --><!-- Current Ratings : end --><!-- vbbintegration : start -->
