Restaurant owners welcome face mask mandate for F&B workers in Selangor

 

The Kajang and Selayang municipal councils have made it compulsory for food and beverage operators and their staff to wear face masks from today. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: Restaurant owners in Selangor have welcomed the state government’s move to get food and beverage operators and their staff to mask up.

Selangor menteri besar Amirudin Shari had recently suggested that local authorities in the state impose the use of mandatory face masks at all food outlets, but in stages.

Amirudin said the wearing of face masks during the process of food preparation and serving would instil confidence in customers.

myBurgerLab co-founder Renyi Chin said it was a good initiative, pointing out that it would not affect their operations as the restaurant had decided to continue using face masks post-pandemic.

“However, the challenge will be that rogue officers, who may not have compassion in certain grey area scenarios, could dish out summonses indiscriminately.

“There may also be a situation where some staff may not be wearing their masks the right way and if they are issued a summons, the outlet will incur an extra financial burden,” he told FMT.

Abdul Malik Abdullah, chairman of D’Tandoor Food Industries, said the proposed mandate would increase the hygiene of a restaurant, adding that this would avoid unwanted saliva particles from going into the food.

“I think it is a good exercise and customers will feel secure (with the restaurant’s handling of food). This will also increase the restaurant’s standards and attract more customers,” he said.

However, he pointed out that it would take a bit of time for all restaurants to comply with this as a mask mandate would be a little costly.

Huen Su San, who manages 10 F&B outlets and two central kitchens, said she was unaware of this ruling but stated that her workers were already wearing face masks.

“This is a good mandate but it could be a little troublesome for some, especially staff members working in a hot kitchen. This will hinder communication among themselves as they must talk a lot louder.

“Also, each staff member will have different comfort levels in using a mask. However, with the threat from Covid-19 still lurking, this mandate will help maintain the hygiene at restaurants,” she said.

Early last month, the Kajang municipal council (MPKj) announced the mandate on the use of face masks for all food and beverage operators and their staff, effective January.

Selayang municipal council (MPS) then followed suit. In a Facebook post on Thursday, MPS announced that it will impose a compound against traders who fail to comply with the instructions. - FMT