2 days ago
Want to sell food? Better have a four-star loo, mayor tells JB
JOHOR BAHRU, July 30 — All food outlets and restaurants must now achieve a minimum four-star rating for their toilets before they can renew their business licences with the local authority here.
The Johor Bahru City Council (MBJB) move, which affects 7,435 food premises within the district, is part of a wider campaign to improve public hygiene standards.
Johor Bahru Mayor Datuk Mohd Haffiz Ahmad said the council has approved an implementation paper to establish a toilet cleanliness standard, dubbed 'Bersih, Menawan dan Wangi' (BMW) — Clean, Charming, and Fragrant — as a mandatory condition for business licence renewals.
'This campaign, effective this year, encourages premise operators to ensure their toilets are always clean and meet the four-star and above requirement,' he told reporters after the MBJB full council meeting today.
'As a start, this will involve all food premises and restaurants, including 24-hour outlets. Therefore, all operators must ensure their toilets meet or exceed this requirement to be eligible for next year's business licence renewal.'
Mohd Haffiz said the city council's licensing department will provide a self-assessment checklist for operators to complete. MBJB officers will then conduct inspections to verify the rating.
If a business does not meet the four-star requirement, the operator must carry out the necessary cleaning or upgrading works to satisfy the criteria before their licence renewal application can be approved.
'We hope that these additional conditions will empower premise operators to be more responsible in contributing to making Johor Bahru city cleaner,' the mayor said.
