The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) and the Environmental Health Department have jointly step-up education on the need for food vendors in the Bono region to strictly adhere to health and safety standards regarding their operations.

This is to forestall the spread of preventable diseases (communicable diseases) among their patrons.

Under the code-name: “No street food vending permit, no business,” the two outfits are working closely with the various district assemblies to ward-off any food vendor who does not meet the requirements to obtain permit before operating.

To this end, an out-door sensitisation programme for street food vendors and the general public has taken place in Sunyani to further drum home the need for anyone who sells food on the street or in the open to go through the approved health and safety schemes of the FDA and the Environmental Health Office.

Speaking at the programme in Sunyani on Friday, the Bono Regional Director of the FDA, Mrs. Akua Amponsaa Owusu noted that street food vendors play a vital role in the socio-economic development of society as they provide quick and inexpensive source of nutrition for a lot of people.

She continued, “Street foods have often been contaminated either biologically, chemically or physically with the levels above the recommended limits” which leads to dire consequences on humans and the environment in general.

“In response to this, the FDA together with the FAO have been working tirelessly to instill best practices in their operations that will ensure what the food vendors prepare and sell are handled hygienically and safely to minimize food borne illnesses in our communities,” she stated.

Consequently, Mrs. Amponsaa Owusu explained, the FDA is collaborating with the Environmental Health and Sanitation Department of the various metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies in the performance of its mandatory duties to ensure that the food safety laws are adhered to.

The Deputy Bono Regional Environmental Health Officer, Humphrey Brandt underscored the importance of the exercise in Sunyani, especially as the town is fast developing into a cosmopolitan area.

A Senior Regulatory Officer of the FDA, Abena Ayisaa Domfeh, took the gathering through the processes required for food vendors to obtain permits to operate.

She was emphatic that the FDA would not hesitate to withdraw the permit of any food vendor who, after being issued with a permit, refuses to adhere to the health and safety standards set out for him or her.