AMA clamps down on Chop Bars in unhygienic places

About 30 ‘chop bars’ were yesterday closed down at Agbogbloshie for operating under unhygienic conditions.

This follows an inspection carried out by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) to check the premises of food vendors whose operations did not meet acceptable standards.

The exercise which was carried out by a combined team of police personnel and the assembly’s task force was meant to curtail the recent cholera outbreak.

While some of the vendors were spotted using rotten ingredients like tomatoes, onions and pepper to cook food, others were selling close to open gutters and refuse dumps.

Despite applause from passersby for the good work of the assembly, others rained insults and curses on the taskforce.

The food items were destroyed by the task force to avoid being sold to customers.

The food vendors told The Ghanaian Times that they were not alerted before the exercise and bemoaned the loss of their investments.

According to the AMA Public Health Director, Dr. Simpson Anim Boateng, the exercise was meant to deal with the cholera outbreak which has already claimed over a hundred innocent lives.

He explained that most of the patients were infected from contaminated food served by chop bar operators.

Dr. Boateng said in spite of the numerous warnings, some recalcitrant food vendors continued to operate under unhygienic conditions, while others used rotten foodstuff to cook for innocent customers.

“We have observed that most people who have suffered from cholera, ate outside food, especially, from these chop bar operators. That is why we are closing down their premises to check the spread of the cholera outbreak,” he said.

While advising the public to be conscious of the food they eat, he urged them to report food operators who continued to cook food at unhygienic places.