PORT KLANG: Some 54 tonnes of frozen meat worth RM1.5 million confiscated in operations have been distributed to feed animals in various zoos and wildlife conservation centres nationwide.
It is believed to be the biggest amount of seized food distributed at one go.
Agriculture and Food Industry Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee said the meat, illegally imported from various countries, were seized during checks by the Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Services Department (Maqis) between February and April at Port Klang and had undergone prior legal process under Sections 11(1) and 15(1) of the Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Services Act 2011.
The products were handed to representatives from agencies under the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan), among others, Taiping Zoo, Melaka Zoo, Lost World of Tambun Perak and National Wildlife Rescue Centre (NWRC) Perak.
A portion of the haul was also distributed to the Penor (Pahang), Pengkalan Chepa (Kelantan) and Marang (Terengganu) prisons for their catfish farm project as part of their inmates' rehabilitation programme and as food resources for nearby zoos and wildlife conservation.
In addressing the illegal imports of frozen meat issues, Kiandee said the government would review the Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Services Act 2011 and enhance efforts to address leakages involving meat imports.
He said among them were to tighten the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) requirements for transit and transhipment of meat imports.
"The cabinet committee on the National Food Security Policy, chaired by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had on June 8 agreed on proposals to strengthen and enhance monitoring of meat import.
"At the same time, the ministry is also mulling the establishment of a One Stop Quarantine Centre (OSQC) to strengthen the biosecurity and food security aspects, in line with the national food security agenda," he said.
He said the proposed OSQC was to address risks of diseases brought by the imported meats, whereby the centre would meet international standards to ensure that all agrofood products brought into the country or exported where inspection and quarantine processes done under one roof at the country's entry points.
He said the proposed centre would be equipped with five functions, which are virus/microorganism detection, disinfection process, quarantine centre, quarantine certification and illegal-activities prevention.
"Apart from the infrastructure development and facilities, the project would also include proposal on its own information technology system development to assist in the traceability and automation process.
"Besides from enhancing the country's biosecurity and food security, the OSQC would encourage economic development and businesses, especially agrofood products and e-commerce, as well as increasing their marketability in the international level," he said.
The New Straits Times had last year reported on a meat cartel scandal in the country, which had been in operation for more than 40 years.
This has prompted large-scale probe by the authorities, which later revealed involvement of government officials in bringing non-certified meat into Malaysia and passing it off as halal-certified products.