Policy to control food vending en route

A group of scientists from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) have completed research into street food vending in Kumasi to direct policy makers to frame specific laws to regulate the industry.

A draft policy is also ready to be handed over to the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly and other authorities including the Food and Drugs Authority, the Ghana Standards Authority and the Metropolitan Health Directorate for action.

The head of the three-man research team, Dr John Boulard Forkuor of the Sociology and Social Works Unit under the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources of KNUST said the existing laws regarding food which have been extracted from the KMA, the Tourism Act, the Criminal Offences Act and the Public Health Act, and pieced together, are too general and do not address the specific preparation and sale of any particular food.

When accepted the regulation is expected to lead to enhancing the performance and growth potential of street food vending for accelerated socio-economic development in Ghana.

Sequel to that, the research team including Mr James Osei Mensah and Mrs Gloria Ankar-Brewoo, and a group of professors from KNUST engaged various stakeholders including the KMA, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and the Environmental Health Officers in Kumasi on Thursday to discuss the specifics before dissemination to the authorities.

The research which began in 2012 under the title, ‘the Ghana street food project’, was conducted in collaboration with the Danish International Development Agency, the Danish Foreign Affairs and the University of Copenhagen.

The research tackles the rights and responsibilities of the vendors, the business aspect of the trade, food preparation, safety and the general welfare of customers.

It is to provide research-based knowledge that will improve understanding in the urban street food vending subsector, whose players are estimated at 20,000 food vendors in Kumasi alone.