Food Act overhaul: Online sales, pesticide residues and unsafe packaging now under tighter watch

The Dewan Rakyat has passed the Food (Amendment) Bill 2026, amending the Food Act 1983 to enhance food safety and quality controls in Malaysia.

The amendments include increased penalties, monitoring of online food sales, and stricter controls on food contact materials and pesticide residues.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad emphasized that the higher penalties aim to deter violations and protect public health, while ensuring a risk-based enforcement approach is adopted.

Additionally, the bill strengthens the powers of the Director-General of Health, with transitional educational measures in place to support the industry during implementation.

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 9 — The Dewan Rakyat yesterday passed the Food (Amendment) Bill 2026 to strengthen food safety and quality controls and provide more comprehensive protection for consumers nationwide.

The amendments to the Food Act 1983 (Act 281), the first comprehensive review of the act, include higher penalties, controls on samples of food contact materials (FCMs), monitoring of online food sales and monitoring of pesticide residue levels in agricultural produce.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said the higher penalties were not intended to burden food operators or small traders, but to serve as a deterrent and safeguard public health.

“The existing penalties are no longer commensurate with the offences committed, particularly in cases of food poisoning resulting in deaths, such as the food poisoning incident at Sekolah Menengah Sains Teluk Intan, which affected 60 students but resulted in a fine of only RM3,000, and the laksa kebok case in Kedah, which claimed two lives but resulted in a fine of only RM1,500 in 2018.

“No monetary value can be placed on human life. The higher penalties take into account the seriousness of the offences and are proportionate to the violations committed to ensure greater accountability among traders,” he said when winding up debate on the bill.

The bill, among others, provides for higher fines and longer maximum jail terms, including a fine of up to RM25,000 or imprisonment for up to five years, or both, for offences under regulations made pursuant to Act 281.

Dzulkefly said the Health Ministry (MOH) would also adopt a risk-based approach to enforcement, whereby minor technical offences would first be addressed through advice and health education, while serious offences under Section 11 or repeated offences by persistent offenders would be taken directly to court without a compound being issued.

On online food sales, he said 23,553 requests to block social media accounts and e-commerce platforms had been submitted between 2023 and September 2026 due to an increasingly worrying trend of non-compliance.

He said the amendments would strengthen the powers of the Director-General of Health to close premises or disclose information on dangerous products without having to wait for a court order, particularly in cases involving the use of false addresses.

Dzulkefly also expressed concern over the rising rate of non-compliance with the maximum residue limit (MRL) for pesticides in vegetables sold on the local market, which increased from nine per cent in 2023 to 14.1 per cent between January and June 2026.

He also gave an assurance that the Health Ministry would provide a grace period and implement educational enforcement in phases during the transition to enforcement of the amended act to avoid adversely affecting the industry and small traders.

To ensure integrity among authorised officers, Dzulkefly said body cameras had been in use since 2022, alongside the digital use of the Malaysia Food Safety Information System (FoSIM), to reduce room for discretion and curb corruption.

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马来西亚下议院通过了《2026 年食品（修正）法案》，修订了 1983 年食品法，以加强马来西亚的食品安全和质量控制。

修订内容包括加大处罚力度、加强对网上食品销售的监管，以及对食品接触材料和农药残留进行更严格的控制。

卫生部长拿督斯里祖基菲里·艾哈迈德强调，提高处罚力度旨在遏制违法行为，保护公众健康，同时确保采取基于风险的执法方式。

此外，该法案加强了卫生总干事的权力，并制定了过渡性教育措施，以在实施过程中为行业提供支持。

吉隆坡，10月9日讯——国会下议院昨日通过了2026年食品（修正）法案，旨在加强食品安全和质量控制，并为全国消费者提供更全面的保护。

1983 年《食品法》（第 281 号法案）的修正案是该法案的首次全面审查，其中包括提高处罚力度、控制食品接触材料 (FCM) 样品、监控网上食品销售以及监控农产品中的农药残留水平。

卫生部长拿督斯里祖基菲里·艾哈迈德表示，提高罚款额度并非意在加重食品经营者或小商贩的负担，而是为了起到威慑作用，保障公众健康。

“现有的处罚力度已经与所犯的罪行不相称，尤其是在食物中毒导致死亡的案件中，例如安顺理科中学发生的食物中毒事件，60名学生受到影响，但最终只被罚款3000令吉；以及2018年吉打州发生的叻沙烤肉事件，造成两人死亡，但最终只被罚款1500令吉。

“人的生命是无法用金钱来衡量的。提高处罚力度考虑到了违法行为的严重性，并与违法行为的程度相称，以确保商户承担更大的责任，”他在总结该法案辩论时说道。

该法案除其他条款外，还规定了更高的罚款和更长的最高监禁期限，包括对根据第 281 号法令制定的法规所规定的违法行为处以最高 25,000 令吉的罚款或最高五年的监禁，或两者并罚。

祖基菲里表示，卫生部也将采取基于风险的执法方式，对于轻微的技术性违法行为，将首先通过建议和健康教育来解决；而对于违反第 11 条的严重违法行为或屡犯者的重复违法行为，将直接移送法院，而不进行罚款。

关于在线食品销售，他表示，由于不遵守规定的趋势日益令人担忧，2023 年至 2026 年 9 月期间，已提交了 23,553 份封锁社交媒体帐户和电子商务平台的请求。

他表示，这些修正案将加强卫生总干事的权力，使其无需等待法院命令即可关闭场所或披露危险产品信息，尤其是在涉及使用虚假地址的情况下。

祖基菲里还对当地市场销售的蔬菜中农药残留量超标率（MRL）的上升表示担忧，该超标率从 2023 年的 9% 上升到 2026 年 1 月至 6 月的 14.1%。

他还保证，卫生部将提供宽限期，并在修订法案实施过渡期间分阶段实施教育性执法，以避免对行业和小商贩造成不利影响。

祖基菲里表示，为确保授权官员的廉洁，自 2022 年以来，马来西亚一直在使用执法记录仪，并配合使用马来西亚食品安全信息系统 (FoSIM) 的数字化系统，以减少自由裁量权并遏制腐败。

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