As part of the main agenda of the Government of Osun State under the able leadership of our amiable Governor, His Excellency Senator Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke, food safety will be given proper attention as the government is so passionate about the wellbeing of the people which also prompted the government to make quality health care services as part of its cardinal objectives.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr Isiak Adekunle disclosed this through the State Coordinator for Food Safety and Quality Management in the Ministry of Health, Mr Abiola Afolabi, during an interaction with the press on the 2023 World Food Safety Day Celebration in Osogbo.
According to the Permanent Secretary,:”The United Nations General Assembly adopted the resolution making 7th of June every year as World Food Safety Day and by this adoption,it automatically becomes part of the resolution of the National Council on Health(NCH) that all the 36 States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja to also be celebrating World Food Safety Day ( WFSD) for the purpose of creating awareness and sensitizing the public on food safety.”
He further stated that the theme for the year 2023 World Food Safety Day is ” Food standards save lives ” that is ,if standard food is taken, definitely there would be no victims of food borne diseases.
Adekunle hinted further that food safety is so important to the World Health Organization (WHO) as WHO remains the highest health organization in the world that regulates the activities of the health sector.
According to the former Director General (WHO) Dr Margret Chan, every government should give food safety the priority they are giving to pharmaceutical products because not everybody takes drugs everyday but everybody takes food everyday. That is,we might see some people two or three months that don’t fall sick because of the in take of quality food, so everybody must take standard food and water everyday because water is also part of what is referred to as food.
The PS used the occasion to highlight some major types of food hazards that are rampant such as physical hazards, chemical hazards and biological hazards.
He also stated that personal hygiene and environmental hygiene are also important to food safety.
According to him;”While personal hygiene is practically talking about the human being handling the food substance such as the persons cooking it, transporting it, storing it, selling it at every point in time must be hygenic in daily activities like cutting of finger nails, taking bath, brushing of teeth, wearing clean clothes, covering of hair so that any of the known hazard would not contaminate the food substance while the environmental hygiene has to do with other environmental factors like the surroundings, the equipment used and the cleaning aspect of it.
He advised the residents of Osun state that it is high time they all realized that there is inherent danger in eating unsafe food, stressing that there are over 200 diseases that can be contacted through eating of unsafe food and the earlier we realize it the better as prevention is better than cure.
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Segilola Babalola
MoH.
