FAO/FDA sensitizes food vendors on proper food handling

Dr Martin Kusi, the Western Regional Director of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), has admonished food vendors to stop adding leftovers to newly prepared meals.

They are also to ensure a cleaner environment, proper waste disposal, and stop buying dented and almost spoiled vegetables and edibles for cooking. 

He said another emerging phenomenon among food vendors was the exposure of fish, chicken and meat products in the shelves of their glass cases, showcasing for many hours without warming, a situation that attracts flies and other insects.

Dr Kusi also spoke against the use of washing powders, bar soaps and ‘Azuma balls’ for cleaning bowls and advised them to use good-grade bar and liquid soaps to avoid soap sticking on bowls, which could cause stomach problems.

The Regional Director was speaking during a collaborative sensitisation programme by the Ghana Office of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the Regional FDA for food vendors on food safety, handling and environmental cleanliness, byelaws, among others.

Dr Kusi said that when the negative food handling practices stopped, it would help avoid contamination of foods, which could result in food poisoning and other water-borne infections.

Better food handling and nutrition as well as the right eating, were critical for creating productive families and society in general, he added. 

Daniel Lamptey, the Metropolitan Environmental Analyst, urged the vendors to always undergo the appropriate testing and receive the needed accreditation before cooking and selling food to consumers. 

He said the Assembly was ready to prosecute all sanitation offenders, particularly food vendors, as bad food handling practices could disturb the health of Ghanaians.