By Elizabeth Larkwor Baah
Ashaiman, Aug. 10, GNA – Olam Agri, an agribusiness company, in collaboration with the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council (RCC), has organised a health screening session for bakers in Ashaiman Municipality and Tema Metropolis.
The goal of the medical screening was to guarantee that only medically fit individuals would sell food to the public.
The participants were also taken through hygiene practices to ensure they adopted maximum hygiene practices and maintained food safety standards where they operated.
Mr. Albert Boakye Okyere, the Ashaiman Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), told the bakers to cook clean to reduce the risk of polluting the foods they sell to the public.
Mr. Okyere said the health and well-being of Ghanaians were crucial, hence the need for the bakers to consider the well-being of the buyers in their activities, saying that buyers would purchase more if they got the necessary nutrients needed in the foods they bought.
He appealed to them to adopt good environmental health practices to ensure the health of Ghanaians, as that would put them in a better position to contribute to the country’s socio-economic development.
He also appealed to Ashaiman residents to participate in the Homowo clean-up exercise.
Ms. Naa Dzama Amu, the Corporate Communications Officer for Olam Agric, said the “My Healthy Baker” initiative was designed to ensure the well-being of all bakers in the communities in which they operate.
Ms. Amu said regular education and health check-ups of the bakers would ascertain their medical state in ensuring that the foods they produce for the public were hygienic and not contaminated.
She said Olam Agri was committed to safeguarding their customers, saying a series of training programmes were held to ensure the bakers meet international standards.
Ms. Sybil Marie Boison, the Greater Accra Regional Environmental Health Officer, said screening was important to prevent work-related illness and injuries, identify potential health risks, and help take proactive measures to mitigate them.
Ms. Boison advised the participants to adopt best practices, including regular hand washing, scarfing of their hair, wearing aprons, and slippers, to prevent impurities from entering the food.
She added that the bakers were daily exposed to hazards such as flour dust, noise, and physical demands and needed regular screening and sensitisation to ensure a safe working environment.
GNA