KUALA LUMPUR: A food manufacturing company was slapped with a RM10,000 fine by the magistrate's court here on Friday for selling ‘laksa pendek’ noodles containing banned food additives last year.
Magistrate Zuhair Rosli fined EHH Food Industry Sdn Bhd after its representative operations supervisor Oh Ching Hai pleaded guilty to the offence.
The food manufacturer was charged with selling three packets of its 'Cap Kunci' brand of laksa pendek which were found to contain benzoic acid – a preservative prohibited under Rule 63 of the Food Regulations Act 1985.
The offence was committed at a supermarket in Kepong at 10am on Aug 22, 2017.
The court ordered that the company's assets, amounting to RM10,000, be seized should it fail to pay the fine.
According to the facts, a raiding officer from the Health Office went to the supermarket and bought three packets of Cap Kunci laksa pendek for analysis.
The officer’s report revealed that the laksa pendek contained 514mg/kg of benzoic acid.
The Health Office also found that EHH Food Industry did not comply with the Food Act for selling its laksa pendek.
Earlier, Kepong District Health Office prosecuting officer Arsyad Mohd Jafar argued for a maximum sentence, as the case involves the health of the public.
"Benzoic acid is a preservative that is prohibited, and it could cause inflammation, asthma and cancer (if) a person were to consume it for a long time," he added.