MeSTI and GMP: the rungs below HACCP
Every food manufacturing premises in Malaysia must run a food safety assurance programme. For most small producers that starts with MOH’s free MeSTI scheme, then GMP. Both are foundations: HACCP is built on top of them, not instead of them.
Written from MOH’s MeSTI Guidelines, MOH’s certification guideline MCS-HACCPGMP Rev 7 (May 2026) and the Food Hygiene Regulations 2009. Last updated: .
MeSTI: Makanan Selamat Tanggungjawab Industri
MeSTI is the Ministry of Health’s minimum food safety assurance programme for food manufacturers, introduced in 2012. MOH positions it for small and medium businesses that find GMP, HACCP or ISO 22000 hard to reach, and it meets regulation 9 of the Food Hygiene Regulations 2009, which requires every food manufacturing premises to run a food safety assurance programme.
- Fee
- Free (§9)
- Coaching
- Free MOH technical coaching; the programme must be built within 6 months (§5.4, §10.3.3)
- Audit
- Field audit by State or District Health officers
- Corrective actions
- Closed within 3 months (§10.4.2)
- Validity
- 3 years, monitored at least once a year (§11.1, §12.2)
- Apply through
- FoSIM, with MOH premises registration, SSM, local authority licence, process flow chart and product list
MeSTI is free, and MOH coaches applicants itself, so for many small producers the right advice is to use that coaching. Where we help is when the premises needs more than coaching: a layout that works against the flow of food, records nobody keeps, or a plan to go on to GMP or HACCP within a year or two.
GMP to MS 1514:2022
Good Manufacturing Practice covers the prerequisite programmes: premises and equipment design, cleaning and sanitation, pest control, personal hygiene, water, maintenance, training, and control of operations. In Malaysia food GMP is certified to MS 1514, now in its 2022 edition, by MOH or by a certification body accredited by Standards Malaysia.
GMP matters beyond its own certificate. MOH’s HACCP scheme requires the prerequisite programmes to be documented to MS 1514 before a HACCP system can be certified, so a GMP project is often the first half of a HACCP project.
MOH’s GMP fees
Published fees, paid to MOH (MCS-HACCPGMP Rev 7, Appendix 3). Micro means fewer than 5 staff and annual sales under RM250,000.
| Item | Micro | SME | Large |
|---|---|---|---|
| New application | RM2,300 | RM3,500 | RM4,700 |
| Renewal | RM1,800 | RM2,600 | RM3,500 |
| Surveillance | RM1,600 | RM1,600 | RM1,600 |
How the rungs connect
- An MOH HACCP certificate automatically includes GMP and MeSTI, at no extra cost.
- An MOH GMP certificate automatically includes MeSTI.
- Holders of an MOH packaged-water or ice licence also receive MeSTI without a separate audit.
So if you already know a buyer will ask for HACCP, it is usually better to plan for HACCP from the start than to certify each rung in turn.
What about halal?
JAKIM’s halal procedure asks for hygienic processing that meets good hygiene or good manufacturing practice, plus food handler training and typhoid vaccination. It does not require a MeSTI, GMP or HACCP certificate, and holding one earns no formal credit. A working GMP system does give you the hygiene foundation the halal audit looks for.
Apakah itu sijil MeSTI dan berapa kosnya?
MeSTI (Makanan Selamat Tanggungjawab Industri) ialah program jaminan keselamatan makanan peringkat asas oleh KKM untuk pengilang makanan, khususnya IKS. Pensijilan MeSTI adalah percuma, disertai bimbingan teknikal KKM, dan sah selama 3 tahun. Permohonan dibuat melalui FoSIM. Baca dalam Bahasa Malaysia.
Questions about MeSTI and GMP
What is MeSTI?
Is MeSTI enough, or do I need GMP or HACCP?
Which GMP standard applies in Malaysia?
If I get HACCP from MOH, do I also have to apply for GMP and MeSTI?
Not sure which rung you are on?
Tell us what you make and who you sell to. We will tell you whether MeSTI is enough, or whether it is worth going straight to GMP or HACCP.