Schools asked to constitute food safety Committees

Ho, Aug. 11, GNA - The Acting Director General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Benedicta Naana Biney, on Wednesday, urged second cycle institutions to constitute a Food Safety Committees, to be responsible for matters regarding food safety in schools.

She also asked the National Association of Domestic Bursars and Matrons to establish a committee to research into ways of utilizing the limited resources available to them towards the proper feeding of students.

These were contained in an address read on her behalf at the third Biennial Conference of Domestic Bursars and Matrons in Ho.

The theme for the conference was, "Institutional Feeding- The Challenges of Food Poisoning."

She said the Food Safety Committees should formulate and rigidly enforce rules, regarding personal hygiene of kitchen staff, cleanliness in the kitchens, proper disposal of kitchen waste, storage of both dry and wet food items, and serving of meals in the dining halls and other food related activities.

Naana Biney said all stakeholders in the administration of food in schools must be critical about actions and inactions that could compromise food safety standards.

She said the kitchen staff must be given regular training on proper handling of food and food items in schools and ensure that they were properly dressed while on duty.

Naana Biney said other critical areas that must engage school authorities regarding food safety are their food suppliers and food vendors, most of whom are relatives of staff members and therefore difficult to control.

She warned that any incident of food poisoning in schools could have devastating effects on students' confidence in the kitchen department, disrupt academic work, create panic among students and parents and attract public criticism and media lashing.

In a solidarity message, the Food and Drugs Board urged school authorities to institute self-regulatory measures on food safety and to seek the assistance of the Board for advice and training in food safety related issues.

The Conference of Heads of Assisted Schools (CHASS) commended the Matrons and domestic bursars for helping to curtail food related student disturbances in schools.

Mr Emmanuel Keteku, Ho Municipal Director of Education, who presided, called for effective collaboration between matrons and domestic bursars and school authorities in the planning, budgeting and implementation of feeding programmes in schools.