{"id":337304,"date":"2025-02-22T11:57:37","date_gmt":"2025-02-22T15:57:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/?p=337304"},"modified":"2025-02-22T11:57:37","modified_gmt":"2025-02-22T15:57:37","slug":"focus-is-on-food-safety-heading-into-festivities-says-health-department","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/homepage-carousel\/focus-is-on-food-safety-heading-into-festivities-says-health-department\/","title":{"rendered":"Focus is on food safety heading into festivities, says health department"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-337305\" src=\"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Calma-Louis-delivering-remarks-at-Carnival-press-conference--642x319.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"318\" \/><\/p>\n<p>As the public gears up for Mas Domnik 2025, the Environmental Health Department is ensuring that all necessary food safety measures are put in place to prevent foodborne illnesses.<\/p>\n<p>This was according to Senior Environmental Health Officer, Calma Louis who was addressing a Carnival Press Conference this week.<\/p>\n<p>Foodborne illness, also known as food poisoning, is any kind of illness resulting from the contamination of food by viruses, pathogenic bacteria, or parasites.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs we gear up for Mas Domnik 2025, the Environmental Health Department is pleased to inform the public that all necessary food safety measures are being put in place,\u201d she said. \u201cWe are committed to ensuring a safe and enjoyable Carnival experience for everyone and our environmental health officers will be conducting surveillance throughout the festival to safeguard the public\u2019s health.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Louis highlighted some key food safety measures for vendors.<\/p>\n<p>She said vendors must have a valid food handlers permit card and it should be displayed so all can see.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou cannot forget your food handlers ID card,\u201d she advised. \u00a0\u201cIt should be like money in your purse for vending.\u00a0 This is an essential thing for the environmental health officers and for the public who will be ensuring that you are certified, current, and up to date by the environmental health department.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Louis told vendors that before preparing food they should wash their hands thoroughly with soap and water.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe want to ensure that safe food is provided, so we are asking our food handlers to ensure that they have water and soap for hand washing,\u201d she stated.<\/p>\n<p>She continued, \u201cKeep raw and cooked foods separate and avoid cross-contamination.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Louis went on to state that temperature is important.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe know that a number of our food handlers do not have a thermometer to keep check, so we want to give you a few tips as to how you can do that without a thermometer,\u201d she noted. \u201cOur food handlers \u00a0know that they are supposed to keep hot food hot and that should be above 135 degrees Fahrenheit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She added, \u201cBut because you do not have a thermometer we are telling you that you need to ensure that you keep your food on a grill, so it can maintain the heat at all times\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Louis also encouraged vendors to wear clean clothing and maintain good personal hygiene.<\/p>\n<p>She said only potable water\u00a0 should be used for food preparation, \u201cand please store your ice in clean covered containers and sanitize utensils.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, she told the public to be mindful of food safety.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPlease be cautious about consuming food from vendors who appear to be [in] unsanitary conditions,\u201d Louis advised. \u201cAnd if you notice any issues, we are around, please do not be afraid to inform any of the officers on site.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She continued, \u201cTo ensure compliance with these guidelines, the environmental health officers will be actively monitoring the events.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Louis made it clear that inspections will be carried out to maintain high food safety standards, \u201cand any violation we notice can result in closure or penalties.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As the public gears up for Mas Domnik 2025, the Environmental Health Department is ensuring that all necessary food safety measures are put in place to prevent foodborne illnesses. This was according to Senior Environmental Health Officer, Calma Louis who&#8230;","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":337305,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","footnotes":""},"categories":[68,235,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-337304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-carnival","category-homepage-carousel","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Focus is on food safety heading into festivities, says health department - Dominica News Online<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/homepage-carousel\/focus-is-on-food-safety-heading-into-festivities-says-health-department\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Focus is on food safety heading into festivities, says health department - Dominica News Online\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As the public gears up for Mas Domnik 2025, the Environmental Health Department is ensuring that all necessary food safety measures are put in place to prevent foodborne illnesses. 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