Chief Environmental Health Officer, Tassie Thomas has cautioned food vendors to avoid selling cold foods at events in order to prevent food-borne illnesses.
She said food-borne illness or food poisoning as it is commonly called is a very serious matter.
“We have been getting calls from the public with regards to vendors selling cold foods at events,” she said. “To all food vendors, you need the money, but those who patronize you need your trust and guarantee that the food that you are offering is safe and won’t land them in the hospital or even in the cemetery, because food poison can kill.”
Furthermore, she told food vendors to ensure that they are certified as well as their staff.
She encouraged vendors to serve hot foods at all times and, “and cold foods, cold.”
“Do not store and serve leftover foods to patrons…and be clean, be healthy,” Thomas stated.
Meantime, she advised customers to be sober and observe that vendors are “safely handling your food.”
“Buy foods that are meant to be served hot and those meant to be served cold,” Thomas reiterated.
“Healthy citizens are the greatest assert any country can have.”
I fully support the Chief Environmental Health Officer, Tassie Thomas. There are some unscrupulous vendors, in the minority, that sell dysentery and diarrhoea. Health inspectors should be surveilling the food vendors with eagle eyes to ensure high standards are practised at all times.
As a country, we are too lax when it comes to safety of all kinds (food, road, construction, water, air)etc. We need more educational awareness.
What effect do these announcements have? Perhaps it is not practical to have food inspectors monitor those food vendors, but I am very skeptical about the effectiveness of these government announcements. They sound more like a feel-good PSA to make it appear like someone is doing their job.