Most diseases are from animals – Dr Kikimoto

Dr Bashiru Boi Kikimoto, Chairman of the National Codex Committee (NCC), has said there are about four thousand, one hundred and ninety-eight different sickness in the world, and out of the figure, three thousand, five hundred and fifty-eight are from animals.

“While 146 zoonotic diseases are from cows, 56 come from goats, 28 from cats, with 29 coming from dogs and 41 are acquired from grass cutter,” he said.

He also noted that owing to these figures, two million people die globally every year from eating contaminated foods.

“Two hundred food borne zoonotic disease are also obtained from food cooked by caterers all over the world.”

Dr Kikimoto made these revelations on Thursday at a day's Code of Hygienic Practices for mass and traditional catering workshop in Winneba.

The educational workshop which was on the theme: “Food Safety-From Farm to Fork, " was organized by the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), and the NCC in commemoration of this year’s World Health Day celebration which fell on April 7.

It was also a forum that saw the GSA fulfilling and passing a standard called the Code of Hygienic Practice for Street-Vended food requested by caterers in Winneba.

He, however, advised caterers and the citizenry to frequently wash, clean and disinfect food contact surfaces, as well as their hands before and after cooking, and also called for effective educational measures that would help control food-borne diseases.

Mr Emmanuel O. Asante, Head of the Marketing Department at GSA, noted that multiple sources of contamination from the environment and or contaminants entered food during production, harvest, storage, retailing and preparation for consumption.

He said issues relating to food safety could not be overlooked, and therefore advised caterers and the public to always keep their surroundings clean, separate raw and cooked food, cook food thoroughly, keep food at safe temperatures, and finally use safe water and raw materials.

“Adhering to these five practical guidance for vendors and consumers, will help save us and our street vending food,” he said.

Mr Asante urged all stakeholders, especially the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, to play a significant role to ensure the enforcement of the Code of Hygienic Practice for Stress-Vended food in the Winneba Community in all other parts of the country.

Explaining the codes to caterers, Mrs Naomi Eshun, Standards Officer, GSA, advised caterers to frequently wash their hands with soap and water under running taps, wash plates and utensils after every use, to avoid pest infestation, keep refrigerators clean and disinfect periodically, keep food at safe temperatures, cook and reheat food well, separate raw and cooked food as well as use wholesome raw materials, and buy from clean places.

“Jewelry should not be worn in food handling areas,” she advised.

Mr Edward Archer, Senior Regulatory Officer at the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), said preventing illness was one of FDA’s top priorities, and there would be capacity-building programmes, raise awareness, issues permit to people who would comply with the ethics as well as recommend stringent measures and recommendations to help make the better goals of GSA and NCC to be achieved extensively.

Mrs Akua Kwaakye, Programmes Officer, Nutrition and Food Safety, World Health Organization, and a representative of Food and Agriculture Organization, lauded GSA for its efforts at sensitizing traditional caterers towards food safety, in line with their goals of promoting and saving lives.

Some caterers who spoke to the Ghana News Agency said they had been enlightened, sensitized and had extensive knowledge about new practices that would promote health and their business and therefore called for more of such educational programmes.