Own Correspondent
26th November 2020
The Ministry of Health and Wellness hosted restaurants and catering facilities for a food safety workshop at Fairgrounds Holdings conference facility under the theme “Strengthening food safety programmes during Covid-19 at restaurants and catering facilities, to engage food growers, food processors, importers, distributors, retailers, restaurateurs, food safety consultants, consumer advocacy groups, academia, parastatal, government and non-government stakeholders to identify and address key barriers to effective implementation of the Food Control Act of 1993.
This year was a continuation of the Pitso with the main objective, to sensitize key value chain actors in the food industry on the national laws and other food safety requirements necessary to ensure safety of food served to the public and build consumer confidence during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This initiative was kick started with the first round focusing on Importers and distributors awareness workshop aimed at improving safety and quality assurance of imported food,” said Ms. Seipati Olweny, National Food Control Board Member for the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry.
She said, “The Ministry of Health and Wellness and other government and non-government stakeholders are here to engage with you, the food business operators, with the intention to sharpen national processes on the development of a preventative-focused food safety system, through exchange of ideas and the consequential development of policy solutions and mechanisms.”
According to officials every year millions of people worldwide become sick, with fatalities as a result of consuming contaminated and unsafe food. The economic burden due to incidences of food borne diseases locally has not been quantified due to poor documentation and reporting mechanisms.
However, it has been noted that the most vulnerable groups are young children between ages 0 to 5 years, the elderly over 65 years, people with weakened immunity due to existing illness or those recovering from ailments, pregnant women and nursing mothers. Risk factors contributing to food borne diseases include inadequate heat treatment, inappropriate storage of foods, infected food handlers and cross-contamination.
Botswana has put some measures in place such as the Food Control Act of 1993 to ensure the provision of clean, safe and wholesome foods to the public. However, in spite of it there are reports by consumers of poor quality foods, foods containing foreign matter such as pieces of hairs, visible dirt in bottled soft drinks, visible moulds in baked goods and confectionery, pieces of glass / nails, and use of expired products, among others.
All restaurateurs and caterers have an obligation to protect public health by following proper food safety standards at all times especially because of the increasing incidence of COVID-19.
According to officials there is currently no evidence of COVID-19 transmission via food or food packaging, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
However, ensuring that surfaces are cleaned and sanitised is one of several reasons why it’s essential to ensure that your restaurant and your food is safe for your guests and employees.
According to WHO, if a food business has a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) team established, the members of the team need to be included in all discussions to ensure that new interventions are reviewed with food safety in mind.
If it does not have a HACCP team established, then it needs to appoint one person responsible for considering whether food safety risks could arise from additional measures. This designated person must liaise with food safety authorities for advice.
There is now an urgent requirement for the sector to ensure compliance with measures to protect food workers from contracting COVID-19, to prevent exposure to or transmission of the virus, and to strengthen food hygiene and sanitation practices.
The benefits of such workshops will promote adherence to food safety guidelines in reducing the spread of Covid-19, and sensitize restaurateurs, caterers and food business operators on a number of measures operators can implement to help lower the risk of COVID-19 exposure and spread. These include:
- Taking responsibility to educate employees on the governments Covid-19 protocols and measures about when they should stay home and when they can return to work.
- Implementing stringent cleaning measures such as cleaning and disinfection of frequently touched surfaces such as door handles, cash registers, work stations, sink handles, and bathroom stalls as required by food safety requirements, including provision of hand washing facilities at dining areas.
- Posting signage in highly visible locations that promote everyday protective measures and describe how to stop the spread of germs by properly washing hands and properly wearing a cloth face covering, to name a few.
The workshop was necessitated by requests from food business operators (FBOs) on the lack of awareness of food laws, reports on suspected food poisoning, deteriorating hygiene standards of food business and the need to provide a platform for information.
According to World Health Organization (WHO), almost one in ten people in the world falls ill after eating contaminated food (WHO Estimates of the Global Burden of Foodborne Diseases, 2007-2015).
Therefore, foodborne disease outbreaks pose a considerable impact on public health the world over, and Botswana has not been spared in that regard.
“Apart from the health implications, foodborne illness incidents understandably make consumers anxious and, as a result, restaurant and caterers sales plummet. Great taglines or branding are meaningless, when food integrity is compromised and result in sickening guests,” said Samuel Kolane, Community Health Services Advisor.
He said, “Foodborne illnesses are 100 percent preventable, and could be avoided if restaurants—and other food service organizations—adopt a food safety culture. This includes providing ongoing education/training, regularly holding inspections, implementing proper food safety protocols, and ensuring that the business is operating safely—for every shift, with every meal.”
