Message Of Food Safety Must Be Reinforced

Environmental Health Specialist with responsibility for food safety and protection in the Environmental Health Unit of the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Colin Cooper, is reiterating the need to inform, educate and reinforce the message of food safety.

Speaking in a recent ‘Get the Facts’ interview to mark World Food Safety Day (WFSD) on the JIS television programme, Jamaica Magazine, Mr. Cooper said that the observation of WFSD was very important in this regard.

“It is international and you can realise why. It’s an issue that warrants being on the agenda at our discussions as we assemble in different locations,” he said.

Mr. Cooper explained that Food Safety is that concept, principle and scientific application of procedures, guidelines and activities that need to be applied at various stages of food production.

“We continue to expound on the fact that food you get has to start from a process, so we say from the farm all the way to the fork, which is a continuum. In all of those areas, at each point along that continuum, you need to understand that there are risks and these risks can affect the food,” he said.

Mr. Cooper said it is important to note, as well, that there are biological, chemical and also physical threats to food.

He cited statistics out of the United States of America (USA) that indicate that one in 10 persons will get ill based on what they eat, and noted that one of the high-risk groups that suffer the most are children under five years of age, where approximately 125,000 young children in the USA die from food-borne disease every year.

The food-safety specialist said that a large number of persons who get ill might have aches, vomiting and/or diarrhoea and that many persons might not report those symptoms to the relevant authorities.

“So, what we’re really seeing is just the tip of a big iceberg, and that is why the greatest impact that we can make with respect to food safety and protection is to try and educate and reinforce the message towards behaviour modification.”

Mr. Cooper said the Ministry of Health is one of three main ministries that coordinate efforts to safeguard the country’s food safety, the other two being the Ministries of Agriculture and Fisheries and Industry, Investment and Commerce.

He further explained that under the Health Ministry, there is a health department in each parish with public health inspectors whose food-safety responsibilities include investigation of diseases, licensing of food establishments, certification of food handlers and monitoring of facilities on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.

“The Ministry of Health has a strong presence out there, but we work closely with the other ministries. It’s a coordinated approach, and from that approach we provide the assurance to the public that there are agencies and entities out there on the job all the time,” he said.

World Food Safety Day was observed on Monday, June 7, under the theme ‘Safe Food Now for a Healthy Jamaica’.