…city food inspector reports

THE Mayor and City Council’s (M&CC) Acting Chief Meat and Food Inspector, Ms. Onika Alleyne, has referred to a number of complaints received by her recently in which food handlers in the city are not using best practices.

At a City Hall press conference recently, Alleyne told reporters that in one case, an egg ball was shown to her containing a cockroach’s leg; in another, a raisin bun with a cockroach baked into it; and yet another, a roti and curry with a toe nail inside. The fourth instance that Alleyne referred to was a cut up phone card that was baked into bread.

“So food handlers just need to understand that they need to take the time and the care to provide safe food to persons. If caught doing otherwise, they will have to face some kind of consequence,” Alleyne related.  Even in view of these recent complaints, Town Clerk Royston King, who hosted the press conference, offered that there is an “acute” shortage of public health staff both at the level of the food hygiene inspectorate and the environmental health officers.

King said this is partly due to the difficulties obtained in recruiting technical public health people. “We have to look at upgrading their remuneration so that we can attract them and keep them,” he posited.

Alleyne, too, agreed that the municipality’s capacity to conduct inspections is not at an excellent level and that more inspectors are needed on the team.       During recent inspections around the markets, she noted that officers have found that sausage, cheese and eggs continue to be stored improperly; at bad temperatures, and even in direct sunlight.

On the issue of cut fruits being sold on the streets, Alleyne questioned where vendors obtain water to wash their fruits along with the contamination that comes from selling in high- traffic areas. “So this is a serious issue. Possibly, persons who are ill and their immune system is compromised would be eating these fruits.”

On coconut-vending, Alleyne said there is no standard process that vendors are using to sterilise their bottles. “We would like to urge coconut vendors to desist from selling in the bottles and allow persons to come with their own containers,” she said.       As to school-vending, Alleyne said vendors should be properly clothed and items such as egg balls and phoulouri should be stored at the correct temperatures. She noted that children are vulnerable and hence vendors should use best practices when dealing with them.       Furthermore, for those who sell fruit juices, these should be properly bottled and labelled to establish traceability.

“Street vendors serve a good purpose, but food vendors need to provide hot and cold holdings in the form of warmers and coolers for their foods. They should also improvise a method to have water available for washing their hands,” Alleyne recommended.       The City Council has announced that the Food Handlers’ Certificate will now be raised from $3000 to $5000, which has been influenced by operational costs.

The city will also be introducing special training for food and beverage managers. Upon completion of their training, they will be issued with a different certificate from the one given to regular food handlers.  King said some of the ‘troubling’ concerns of the municipality relate to poor storage of foods and beverages, unlabelled packages and bottles with things for human consumption, insanitary preparation areas, kitchens, close proximity of washrooms to preparation areas, violation of dress code by food handlers and the general physical condition of some eating houses and provision shops.

“You would never believe some of the things our public health inspectors see in the course of their duties,” King had remarked.