By Kamal Ahmed
Somanya (E/R), Sep. 12, GNA – The Ghana Health Service and the Environmental Health Department have inspected food vendors in Somanya, in the Yilo Krobo municipality, as part of the national nutrition week celebration.
Ms. Naomi Ngoti, the Municipal Nutrition Officer of the Yilo Krobo Health Directorate, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that the Ghana Health Service visited health facilities to advise nursing mothers on good eating habits and best breastfeeding practices.
The officials also advised the public to eat well-balanced diets to boost their health and stay healthy all the time.
The visit also took the health officials to several public places, such as schools, markets, and transport terminals.
“When we went around, we noticed that some schools were not adding enough stuff to their food to make it a well-balanced diet,” Ms. Ngoti said.
Adding, “But we advised them that the health of the children matters when they eat enough vegetables, fruits, fish, and other health-beneficial foods to build their systems.”
Ms. Rosemary Nyadee, the environmental health officer for the Yilo Krobo municipal assembly, said the department’s collaboration with the Ghana Health Service helped check food vendors to ensure they were maintaining personal hygiene.
“In terms of hand washing during food preparation and how the area is being well kept preventing outbreaks of diseases,” she said,
The food vendors received advice on proper food handling techniques, such as covering food well to prevent contamination by flies, dirt, or filth.
She said the department had successfully conducted mass medical screening for food vendors and that those individuals who failed to take part in the screening process were prosecuted and urged food vendors to undergo medical screening before engaging in the preparation and sale of food.
“At some of the schools and the public food vendor joints, their surroundings were not clean,” she said, “but we made them know that it’s going to affect both the vendor and the consumer if they keep on preparing and selling food under such [poor] conditions.”
Ms. Nyadee also called on the public to inspect food sellers before buying their food to prevent catching infections.
GNA