The Central Regional office of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has held a capacity-building session for some 95 operators and managers of Food Service Establishments (FSEs) on good hygienic and catering practices.
The exercise was to help address food safety concerns and prevent food-borne diseases, promote the food industry, and foster a cordial relationship between the operators and the authorities.
The training captured, among other subjects, ‘documentation and records keeping’ and ‘Food Law’, emphasizes the need for the FSEs to acquire the Food Hygiene Permit from the FDA.
Madam Francisca Obeng, the acting Regional Head of the Authority, said the exercise also forms part of efforts towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal three, which is about good health and wellbeing.
She urged the participants to have the mindset of protecting public health and safety, stressing the need for FSEs to have a cordial relationship with the FDA.
Operate with Food Hygiene Permit certificate
Madam Obeng charged all FSEs to obtain the Food Hygiene Permit certificates, pointing out that all establishments operating without the permit perpetuate illegality.
“All Food Service Establishments already registered with the FDA are to display their certificates.”
Madam Obeng
The FDA boss admonished the public to look for Food Hygiene Permits in the various establishments before patronizing their services to safeguard their health and safety. The Public Health Act, 2012, Act 851 provides that “any person who sells, prepares, packages, conveys, stores or displays for sale any food under insanitary conditions commits an offense”.
The Act further prohibits all FSEs, including restaurants, hotel kitchens, cafeterias and cafes, bakeries, mobile food vending operators, and food delivery businesses, from operating without the Food Hygiene Permit certificate.
Participants for the training were drawn from the Cape Coast Metropolis, Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abirem, Mfantsiman, and Assin-Fosu Municipalities Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese, Assin North, and South Districts.
In a recent training, Mr William Freeman Goku, the Central Regional Environmental Officer, intimated that it is very crucial for food vendors to be trained to promote food hygiene and safety.
“What needs to be pursued most is to extend the scope to cover street food vending and we believe it is not an attempt to take over medical screening for food vendors’ certificate as currently being carried out in the MMDAs. This exercise with the FDA will deepen the relations that we have with them. Before a permit is issued, food vendors need to meet some environmental standards, which we the environmental health officers will enforce and the FDA will issue the permit and so we are confident of protecting consumers.”
Mr William Freeman Goku
Food ethics, a wide field in need of dialogue
Taking food ethics seriously requires that Ghanaians don’t simply take a stand on one ethical position – such as veganism, plastics, or fair trade. It requires that people consider the different values involved in their decisions, believe in the potential consequences, look at issues ‘in the round,’ and decide what is right according to the laws.
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