LASG intensifies efforts to ensure food safety for Lagosians

The Lagos State Government has established four main sub-committees for the implementation of activities on food safety in line with National guidelines and International best practices.

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Primary Health Care, Dr. Olufemi Onanuga disclosed this in a keynote address at the maiden meeting of the State Food Safety and Hygiene Management Committee held recently.

Onanuga who listed the sub-committees to include Advocacy and Social Mobilization, Training and Capacity Building, Partnership and Resource Mobilization and Monitoring and Evaluation said that the committees are expected to develop operational activities in line with the National Policy on Food Safety and its Implementation Strategy as well as International best practices.

“I hope that the reports of activities of this committee will help to develop a very strong basis for an enviable implementation strategy that will be all-encompassing and achieve the result of ensuring safe food for all Lagosians,” he remarked.

The Special Adviser stated that the National Policy on Food Safety and its Implementation Strategy is a document that has been clearly developed along with its implementation framework by the Federal Ministry of Health in conjunction with Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

He said the Ministry of Health has embarked on various activities to strengthen its food safety programmes through active routine inspection of food handling/processing establishments and implementation of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP).

“HACCP is a systematic preventive approach to food safety from biological, chemical, and physical hazards in production processes. It designs measurements to reduce these risks to a safe level by putting in place stringent actions and strictly monitoring and controlling each process,” he remarked.

The Special Adviser observed that there has been a tremendous growth in inspection coverage of the food handling industry in the State as a total of 1,651 inspections were carried out in 2016 representing 63% coverage against 55% coverage recorded in 2015.

While giving his assurances that the level of coverage in 2017 has increased, he noted that food establishments in Lagos State have already embraced the implementation of HACCP and all its pre-requisite programmes with a view to assuring safe food for all Lagosians at all levels.