WORLD FOOD SAFETY DAY/ FOOD SAFETY EXPERTS RAISE AWARENESS IN NIGERIA STREET FOOD MARKET
To commemorate and celebrate World Food Safety Day on 7 June 2024, the Nigerian Institute of Food Science and Technology (NIFST) partnered with the London Professional Training Centre (LPTC) in Nigeria to mark the 2024 World Food Safety Day with the theme: ”Food Safety-Prepare for the Unexpected” at Otto Whitesand Market, Ebute-Metta, Lagos State, the largest market for seafoods (stockfish, periwinkle, prawns, etc.) snails and raw food items where both wholesalers and retailers converge to ply their trade in Lagos State, which is the commercial capital of Nigeria.
As a food safety advocate and a strong proponent for the recognition of informal food sector actors, Rasaq Oke, CEO of FOODDOTCOMACADEMY SERVICES , was invited to address the market men and women on “UNLOCKING FOOD SAFETY IN TRADITIONAL MARKETS”. According to Oke, his lectures “centered on dissuading the various actors involved in the food supply chains (wholesalers, retailers, hawkers, vendors and customers) from unwholesome practices of using ‘carbide’ to hasten the ripening of some of fruits, preserving some food crops with unapproved chemicals that have a cancerous effect on human beings, show them proper food handling procedures to prevent cross contamination while moving the various food items from one location to another.” Equally, he emphasized the importance of using the Personnel Protective Equipment (PPEs) and demonstrated how to apply them.
Oke continued: “To get their undivided attention, the food handlers and marketers in this traditional market had the opportunity to check their pulse and blood pressure and they were all happy and promised to embrace and apply all the knowledge shared with them by other speakers from Consumer Advocacy for Food Safety and Nutrition Initiative (CAFSANI), NIFST Street Food Safety Initiatives, Association for Promotion of Food Safety and Improved Nutrition (APFSAN) as a way of preparing for the unexpected. They agreed with us that ‘food safety is everyone’s responsibility’ and want government bodies to play their part in the provision of basic infrastructures in the market.”
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