Africa-Press – Ghana. The Western North Regional branch of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) in collaboration with the Environmental Health Directorate have launched an initiative to ensure food safety and hygiene among food sellers and consumers.
Dubbed “Street food vending permit”, the initiative also seeks to ensure compliance among food vendors and promote economic values.
Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) after the launch, Mr Paul Nutsugah, Regional Environmental Health Officer, courted the support of all stakeholders for the successful roll-out of the programme.
He mentioned the lack of toilet facilities in some schools as a major concern and indicated that even the few that had toilet facilities shared with the members of the communities as most homes lack toilet facilities.
He said his outfit was collaborating with the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the School Management Committee to write proposals to corporate institutions to seek assistance to construct toilet facilities for schools in the Region.
Mr Nutsugah said the Environmental Health Directorate would continue to assess the facilities at the various schools to ascertain which of them had toilet facilities, the one in good condition and how many of the schools needed toilet facilities.
He said ensuring food safety was a shared responsibility as regulators would do their part but consumers and food vendors ought to play their roles too to ensure food safety.
Mr Abu Sumaila, Western and Western North Regional Officer of the FDA, explained that the initiative had become necessary due to the poor and unhygienic conditions around food vending joints.
He said the FDA collaborated with the various District Assemblies to assess all the facilities and generate QR codes for them.
This, he believed, would help vendors to comply with good hygiene practices.
He called on the District Assemblies and the Media to do more sensitisation on the need to get street food vending permits.
Participants and stakeholders at the event agreed that food vendors in the Region must form an association, work together to facilitate the improvement of water and sanitation in schools.
They must also collaborate to ensure food safety and hygiene at selling joints and to facilitate the training of food vendors.
Some of the participants, who spoke to the GNA, commended the FDA and the Environmental Health Officers for the programme, saying the move would help sanitise the system.
They mentioned the lack of toilet facilities at Sefwi-Dwenase Market as a major challenge confronting food vendors and market women and called on authorities to help solve the situation.
They also called on the FDA and the Environmental Office to replicate the Regional launch at the various Districts.
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