Victoria Ojugbana, Lagos
The Lagos State government on Tuesday celebrated World Food Safety Day with a call on residents to adhere to food safety regulations and compliance.
This, according to the government, would ensure safer food and sustainable health for the residents.
Speaking at this year’s World Food Safety Day in Lagos with the theme “Safer Food, Better Health,” the Director-General, Lagos State Safety Commission, Lanre Mojola, said that the whole essence of the celebration is to inspire action to help prevent, detect and manage food-borne risks.
Mojola explained that food safety is everyone’s responsibility – whether you grow food, process, transport, store, distribute, sell, prepare, serve or consume food, you have a role to play in keeping it safe.
“The international day is an opportunity to strengthen efforts to ensure that the food we eat is safe, mainstream food safety in the public agenda and reduce the burden of food-borne diseases globally.”
“And we are here to engage with the different sectoral participators, all the critical stakeholders across the food supply chains from the manufacturers to the eateries, also to the regulators, to deliberate on how to make sure the food that we eat is safe.”
“We know that we are what we eat, as such, it is very important to ensure the supply chain is kept safe to reduce contamination, as well as the effect on hospitalisation, due to food poisoning among others,” he said.
He also emphasised that the Lagos State Safety Commission is collaborating with other agencies of government to support safe food production and consumption through regular sensitization, advocacy and engagement with critical stakeholders to limit food-borne diseases and food poisoning across the state.
According to him, “Food Safety is the assurance that food will not cause harm to the consumer when it is prepared or eaten according to its intended use”.
“However, access to a sufficient amount of safe food is key to sustaining life and promoting good health. Food-borne illnesses are usually infectious or toxic in nature and often invisible to the plain eye, caused by bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances entering the body through contaminated food or water”
He, however, mentioned that Food safety has a critical role in assuring that food stays safe in every stage of the food chain from production to harvest, all the way to preparation and consumption.
Also, the Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture, Abisola Olusanya, said that the Agric Ministry has activated a series of initiatives to ensure Safer food for consumption.
The Commissioner, who was represented by the Director Agric Services, Abisola Ayoade, said that the Ministry of Agriculture places special focus on areas that promote the safety of food for consumption and eligibility for trade, promotion of good Agricultural Practices among farmers and this is to ensure that exposure of foods to biological and chemical hazards is reduced.
“The Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) include the use of improved seeds, appropriate use of inputs (fertilizers, pesticides, etc.), use of biological controls (e.g. Aflasafe), integrated pest management and moisture regulation.
“The Ministry has also embarked on a Statewide sensitization to traders in markets on the use of Re-useable Plastic Crates (RPC) to convey their perishable produce as opposed to the use of raffia baskets in order to curtail the spread of pathogens.
Important information and technical advice are usually disseminated to farmers, fishermen and other stakeholders through Effective Extension Services rendered by the staff of the Lagos State Agricultural Development Authority, an arm of the Ministry of Agriculture.” she said.
She added that the Ministry has also embarked on the promotion of the Red Meat Value Chain Initiative through reforms such as the Development of Modern Abattoirs, where animals are slaughtered off the floor which reduces contamination of the processed carcass.
Vice President, Restaurants and Food Services Proprietor Association of Nigeria, Oyeniyo Famoluyi, said that measures have been taken nationwide to ensure food safety is guaranteed, as the association is self-regulated with the mandate to ensure the set standard is not compromised.
Participants talked about the need to ensure multisectoral collaboration to engender development and compliance, design strong policies and practise good governance.
Issues on follow up on food safety commitments, promoting food safety culture as well as complying with international food standards, which according to them will ease trading across the globe were also discussed.
Others who spoke at the occasion identified a lack of standard testing laboratories which led to the rejection of some products, while emphasis was laid on the provision of world-class laboratories that will check some inadequacies towards food Safety for the country.
