Salad greens from Australia reported to be contaminated with salmonella were not exported to Malaysia, said Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah

He said the product was only exported to Singapore, Hong Kong and Thailand.

"According to the International Food Safety Authorities Network (Infosan), the Australian Department of Agriculture and Water Resources has identified the consignment of the affected product exported to the related countries and has taken measures to control it," he said in a statement in Kuala Lumpur today.

Salmonella is a type of bacteria that can cause a person to suffer from diarrhoea, fever and abdominal pain, in addition to causing nausea, vomiting, headache and muscle pain.

The Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) website had on Feb 5, published the withdrawal of certain batches of pre-packed salad brands of Wash N

Toss, Woolworths, Coles, Supa Salad and Clear Film produced by Tripod Farmers, Australia, with the expiry date of Feb 14, 2016, due to salmonella contamination.

Noor Hisham said as a precautionary measure, the Health Ministry had imposed an import ban on the Australian salad product from yesterday.

He said if consumers felt uncertain about the safety status of food available in the local market, they could make a report to the ministry through the nearest district health office or state health department or via this website or the Food Safety and Quality Division's Facebook page .

- Bernama

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