Providing clean, safe food is duty of businesses — Authorities

Dimapur, Oct. 23 (EMN): Businesses and commercial establishments that provide services in food and catering are responsible for the food they provide to the public. The food must have to be clean and hygienic; it is the business operators’ responsibility to provide food handlers with ‘safety and hygiene requirements’ too, the authorities said.

Authorities stated the caution to commercial establishments during a seminar on food safety that was organised by the food safety wing of Mokokchung Chief Medical Officer’s establishment on October 22 with food traders in Mokokchung town.

A press release from the district programme management unit on Tuesday stated that Dr Kibangkumba, deputy chief medical officer, spoke about general hygiene and sanitary practices. He said it was the responsibility of the food business operators to provide all food handlers with food safety and hygiene requirements.

‘Since (sic) any illness or disease that can be transmitted through food can be dangerous, a food business operator must ensure that all food handlers are well aware of the roles and responsibility in protecting food from any kind of contamination,’ the department stated.

A Food Safety officer, Merenlemba Ao, gave the gathering updates about food adulteration and its effects on health. He said food adulteration leads to toxicity in the body, and ‘leads the body to paralysis or eventually to death,’ according to the updates. According to the press release, the gathering was reminded that adulteration affects the quality of the product too, hindering the nutritive value of the food.

The traders and participants in the meeting were urged to ‘give their best in providing good quality products,’ the press release from the local authorities stated.