Food Safety And Why Ghanaians Should Be Concerned

NEWS COMMENTARY ON THE SIGNIFICANCE OF FOOD SAFETY AND WHY GHANAIANS SHOULD BE CONCERNED ABOUT FOOD CONTAMINATION

The UN General Assembly report on Food Safety indicates that nearly one in ten persons globally, which about to 600 million people fall ill and another 420,000 people die yearly from eating foods contaminated by bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances.  This brings in the issue of food safety in the country. It is reasonably and practically good, for the conception of global food safety day hence the UN dedicating a day to sensitize and educate the world on food hazards, risks and control measures. Ghana’s Current Health Policy on “REGENERATIVE HEALTH AND NUTRITION” sees food safety as one of the main pillars. Now the question is: how much importance does Ghana as a nation and Ghanaians as a people put in to food safety matters?  It is said that ‘We are what we eat’ and if this adage is true, then where will many Ghanaians stand in food safety ratings? Many Ghanaians have little knowledge in food contamination or poisoning. Beside the above stated processes affecting food contamination, other foreign bodies’ such as glasses, metals, plastics, hairs, insects and rodents’ droppings, are also some of the health threatening exposures against food safety.

Preparation of food involves, converting “ingredient”-foodstuffs in various combinations and quantities, into dishes. The dishes then arranged into meals. Food safety enhancement should be seen as a holistic approach that must be looked at throughout the entire food safety chain. Among these stages include delivery, storage, preparation, cooking, cooling and serving.  Hazards can occur in some or all of these stages. Parties involved in food preparations include, domestic food handlers, commercial kitchen operators, hotels, guest houses, restaurants, cafes, fast food and take away outlets, mobile snack vehicles and bars. All food handlers, irrespective of one’s place of work must see themselves as life dependence and try to execute good practices that wouldn’t negatively affect the health of consumers. Hygiene must be a priority concern to all food handlers at all times.  Constant attention must be paid to food safety issues especially, those in commercial vending.  This must be through public sensitization, education and also the monitoring of the food producing chain. Authorized institutions such as Metropolitan, Municipal, District Assemblies and Ministries of Sanitation, Health, Food and Agriculture, among others must be up to their task in helping to control unsafe food practices. This will help minimize the ill health associated with food contamination in Ghana to help reduce the financial budding on National Health Insurance Authority. Let’s commend the Food and Drugs Authority and the Ghana Standards Authority for their tireless campaign and monitoring in these directions. But that notwithstanding there is the need for these institutions to do more. Individuals need to be proactive about their personal health by being careful about where they buy their foods and how to preserve them in their homes.

BY: PHILIP NANA ASANTE, DIRECTOR OF PB PROTECTION CENTRE.