{
  "id": 12813949,
  "title": "Zaliha calls for national food safety alert system",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/08/zaliha-calls-for-national-food-safety-alert-system",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-10-08T06:33:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2026/10/08/zaliha-calls-for-national-food-safety-alert-system"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Former health minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa has called for a national food safety alert system to help consumers quickly access information on unsafe and recalled food products. Discussing the Food (Amendment) Bill 2026 in the Dewan Rakyat, she argued that the proposed changes would enhance early action, requiring the immediate closure of food establishments selling harmful products. The Bill would also strengthen the requirements for recalling or withdrawing food and packaging materials when safety violations are detected. Zaliha inquired about the mechanism to ensure consumers receive timely information about recalled products and proposed that the health ministry establish an official channel for public access to all food safety and recall notices. She questioned whether the ministry had sufficient resources, such as personnel and laboratories, to enforce the broader scope of the law. The minister stressed that the bill's expansion of enforcement responsibilities, including taking food samples and verifying overseas facilities, should be accompanied by a plan to strengthen implementation capacity.",
  "summary": "Dr Zaliha Mustafa also asks whether the health ministry has enough officers and laboratory capacity to enforce the expanded Food Act.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Zaliha calls for national food safety alert system",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/08/zaliha-calls-for-national-food-safety-alert-system-12817044",
        "published": "2026-10-08T06:33:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}