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FDB organizes
workshop on food safety in Takoradi
Takoradi, April 14,- GNA -The Food and Drugs Board (FDB)
would as from next year inspect the food preparation chain
of hotels and restaurants before their licenses are renewed
by the Ghana Tourist Board (GTB).
Mr. Richard Odum Nyumuah, Regulatory Officer of FDB,
announced this at a two-day training workshop on food safety
management for 50 food handlers in the hospitality industry
in the Western Region at Takoradi on Friday.
He said hotels and restaurants found to be producing food
under hygienic conditions and meeting food safety standards
would be issued with permit and recommended to the GTB to
renew their licences.
Mr. Nyumuah said hotels and restaurants that meet the
minimum food safety standards would be asked to improve
their performance.
He said those, which have serious infractions, would be
asked to shut down their operations.
Mr. Nyumuah said a survey carried by the FDB in 2004
revealed that there were serious food safety issues in
hotels and restaurants and the board has received many
complainants from the public on food safety in those
facilities.
Mr. Nyumuah advised hotels and restaurants to start
operating on the principle of Hazard Analysis and Critical
Control Points (HACCP) recommended by Cordex Allimentirus
Commission, the United Nations Agency responsible for food
safety for developing countries.
He said the HACCP is a science-based food safety management
system that aims at identifying potential factors that make
food unsafe for consumption.
Mr. Nyumuah said the HACCP would enable hotels and
restaurants to prevent, eliminate and reduce these hazards
to acceptable limits.
He said the HACCP is compulsory in developed countries and
is now being introduced in the country.
Mr. George Panstil, Zonal Officer of the FDB in-charge of
the Western and Central Regions said one of the aims of the
workshop was to train the participants on the HACCP.
He said this is to enable them to identify food safety
hazards at every stage of food preparation and sale.
GNA
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