REPORT OF COMPLAINT BY CUSTOMERS, FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATION FOR ACTION TO BE TAKEN Introduction We prepared this report because recently

we received several complaint about the stale frozen lambs that our customers had purchased from our hypermarket. At first we thought there was a problem with our refrigeration system but after further investigation, we found out that the affected frozen lamb came from one of our suppliers. We did a preliminary investigation at the suppliers premises especially into their quality control procedure and we found several weaknesses that can be easily corrected and improved. On our side there were also a couple of weaknesses especially the procedure when receiving frozen products from suppliers. Therefore we would like to recommend to the management the need to upgrade our quality control as to avoid further embarrassment that could tarnish the image of our company. We would like to propose several added measures to our quality control such as inspection of suppliers storage facilities from time to time, food handling, packaging, quality control procedure and workers health certificate and level of competence. On our side, all our workers must undergo competence training to handle food items from the moment they arrived to our hypermarket until there are sold to our customers. Our workers should also undergo regular medical check-up for fear of food contamination by unhealthy workers. Complaint By Our Customers As I have mentioned, we received several complaints from our regular customers after having purchased the frozen lamb from our hypermarket. At first, we thought our refrigeration system or the container where the frozen lambs were stored might have been faulty but upon investigation by our technical unit, we found that almost all the lamb supplied by Eatlamb Limited were staled. The other lambs supplied by two other suppliers were found to be in good condition. Action Taken We have wrote a letter to the supplier and at the same time sent back the affected lambs for them to take action. We have also reimbursed back the money to all the customers that had purchased the affected lambs. Our supplier has informed us that they will immediately look into the matter and will inform us once they have receive the report of their findings. We also conducted a surprise visit to the supplier storage and packing facilities which they kindly brought us around. We notice that the staff who are directly

involve in this two sections were not wearing suitable and standardize dressing. Some of the workers were not wearing caps to prevent hair from falling unto the food items. Some workers we noted were not wearing proper footwear at places where they are not suppose to. During the visit we conveyed our dissatisfaction and they have promise to come with a standard procedure for their workers to follow. We have also informed the supplier that affected customers may take legal action against them for having contravene the food safety regulation which falls under the Malaysian Food Act 1983 and Food Regulation 1985. At the moment we are glad that our customers have not taken any legal action as this incident was the first ever happened in our hypermarket. We are at the moment preparing Food Handling Procedure Manual for all staff to observe and comply strictly as to avoid further similar incident. The food handling procedure consist of : 1. 2. 3. 4. Inspection all food products received from suppliers. Our personnel must always be in proper attire when handling food items. To ensure storage, packaging and equipment facilities are clean and fit to be used. All packaging done must have expiry date and batch numbers printed on it which includes suppliers code name, batch numbers and date received from suppliers for easy reference. This is also to avoid accidently mix-up with other food products received on different dates. Before products are sold to customers they have to go through Quality Control for final checking, testing and approval. Technical unit must ensure that all freezing facilities are in good condition. Any significant fluctuation in the freezing temperature should report to quality control section immediately for further action. All personnel in the food section must undergo regular medical checkup to avoid food contamination.

5. 6. 7.

Prior to the complaint, most of our personnel have already gone for training in handling all types of frozen food items. They know the standard freezing temperature for meat is less than minus 18C which must be maintain at all time. We also have a very good technical team that ensure our refrigeration system are constantly running with backup power standing-by in case of electrical power failure. Apart from that, the areas that need to be improved are : 1. Knowing the condition of frozen food items upon received.

2. 3. 4.

Packing procedure. Dressing (Dress code) The need for Quality Control Officer, currently we do not have one. The officers job is to ensure the smooth flow of the frozen items, upon receiving them at our premises right until they goes out to our customers.

Knowing the condition of the frozen food items upon receiving at our premises is very important as it set the rest of the workflow. We believe the product was already contaminated before reaching our premises. Visual inspection did not suggest that the frozen lambs arrived were not fit for human consumption because the packages were not damaged or torn. Therefore we like to suggest to the management to test at least thirty percent of any frozen meat consignment upon received from suppliers and to be certified that they are fit for human consumption before being sold to customers. Secondly, our packaging procedure should be reviewed. I have observed that upon wrapping the frozen item, there was no identification to state which supplier this item came from, which batch and date. The only thing that is printed on the packaging is our company name, our own batch number, production date and expiry date. We may not need to use the suppliers actual names but we can use different codes to identify each supplier. With this method we can immediately identify which supplier the affected frozen products came from if there are any complaints in the future from our customers. Thirdly, our dress code need to be identifiable between the packaging section, meat processing section, management staff, technical section and quality control section. This to ensure management from other branch or head office can immediately identify each staff and which section he or she comes from. Presently, we do not have standardize dressing except that all staff especially those handling frozen meat are instructed to use gloves, head cap, mask and white overall to avoid contamination from hair, dry skin residue, saliva and so on. Fourthly, at the moment we do not have a qualified quality control officer. For now, we are using one of our experience senior officer to look into the quality control on all section of the production workflow. He is the one that will inspect, advice each section on the quality control procedure and; do analysis especially if there are any weaknesses in the workflow, report and provide suggestion to the management for further improvement. At the presence he is working alone and has done a good job. The only problem is we do not have testing facilities to test for example the frozen lamb received from supplier whether it is in good condition or not. I would also like to inform you in regards to the fourth item, after having discuss with my senior officers, we came to the conclusion that the extra cost will not be a burden to employ a qualified Quality Control Officer as well as getting testing

equipment for frozen meat and other food products. This is because it would be more expensive to pay for legal cost if we get sued by our customers for selling contaminated food products and not to mention the lost of jobs if the court decide to shutdown the hypermarket operation. Anyway, last year our hypermarket made about RM1,000,000,000.00 after tax and our annual operating expenses is only about RM 400,000.00. Our annual income has never gone down below the RM1,000,000,000.00 mark that we have set ourselves annually. My senior supervisor who is handling quality control has informed me that the cost of buying new outfit for the staff and the food product testing equipment would be about RM 20,000.00. He further informed me that a qualified quality control officer specialize in food products would cost the company an additional RM3000.00 to RM5000.00 a month in staff salary expenses. I hope the management will seriously consider as the benefit out weigh the cost and it will create a good image for the company in terms of our seriousness in ensuring our products sold to our customers are of the highest standard. Monitoring Suppliers Quality Standards We have informed all our suppliers of our intention to visit them from time to time to check their quality standard and workflow. In a way, it helps to protect our company reputation if there is any complain in the future. At least we can inform our customers that we do regular inspection at our suppliers premises on food handling which they must comply in accordance to the Food Act 1983 and Food Regulation 1985. In the meeting we had with them, we forwarded our suggestion to them how they can improve their product quality to meet up with customers, demand. The suggestion are as follows: 1. Hire a quality control officer to oversee all meat received, if they do not have one. He will ensure all meat received are fresh and in good condition, properly handle, packed and refrigerated according to specification. 2. To ensure all staff handling fresh meat are healthy. They must also undergo medical check-up by the companys panel of doctors at least once a year. 3. To ensure all staff handling fresh meat are properly trained. 4. To ensure premises are clean, tidy and organize especially packing and storage area. 5. All staff especially those handling fresh meat must have proper attire. 6. During handling of fresh meat and packing process, staff involve must wear mask, proper head covering, gloves, proper footwear and are healthy.

7. Their technician must ensure the refrigeration system are working properly and the management must ensure they have back-up power standing-by in case of power failure. 8. Proper log book should be prepared and any unexpected event occurred during the handling of fresh meat must be recorded such as power failure, meat contamination, staff did not follow procedure and so on. 9. Standardize packing and internationally approve material can only be used, this is to avoid chemical reaction to the meat. 10. Markings and labels on the packing must be clear and easy to read. 11. To ensure all equipment used in the handling of fresh meat are clean and free from contaminants. 12. To inform us immediately if problem occurs from any of the following mentioned above and to make available the log book to us upon request.