Schools asked to form food safety committees

Ho, Aug. 12, GNA - Madam Benedicta Naana Biney, Acting Director General of the Ghana Education Service, on Wednesday called on second cycle schools to form food safety committees to ensure the safety of food provided for students.

She also asked the National Association of Domestic Bursars and Matrons to establish a body to research into ways of utilizing limited resources towards the proper feeding of students.

These were contained in speech read on behalf of Madam Biney at the third Biennial Conference of the Association on the theme: "Institutional Feeding - The Challenges of Food Poisoning," in Ho.

She said such committees should be mandated to formulate and enforce rules regarding personal hygiene of kitchen staff, cleanliness in the kitchens, proper disposal of waste, storage of food items and serving of meals in dining halls.

Madam Biney asked stakeholders who handle food in schools to avoid situations that could compromise food safety standards.

She suggested regular training on proper handling of food and food items for kitchen staff and they should dress properly while on duty.

Madam Biney asked school authorities to be critical about food suppliers and food vendors, some of whom were relatives of staff and therefore difficult to control.

She warned that any incident of food poisoning in school could affect students' confidence in the kitchen staff, disrupt academic work, create panic among students and parents and attract public and media criticism.

The Food and Drugs Board called on school officials to institute self-regulatory measures on food safety and seek the Board's advice and training in food safety.

The Conference of Heads of Assisted Schools commended the Matrons and Domestic Bursars for helping to curtail food related student disturbances in schools.

Mr Emmanuel Keteku, Ho Municipal Director of Education, called for effective collaboration between Matrons and Domestic Bursars and school authorities in the planning, budgeting and implementation of feeding programmes for schools.