The Food and Drugs Authority has organised a workshop training on food safety event surveillance system and response in Ghana for health professionals and the public about foodborne illnesses.
Held in Accra, the workshop was with the aim of training team members for the implementation and promotion of food safety in Ghana.
The training will also increase the preparedness and response to food safety emergencies.
Speaking at the event, the Regional Director of Health Service for Greater Accra Region, Dr. Akosua Owusu Sarpong, explained that food safety is important to public health as access to save food is important in maintaining lives as unsafe food containing chemicals poses one to contract diseases.
She said, “Access to safe food and nutritious food is key to sustaining life’s and promoting health, unsafe food containing harmful bacteria, viruses, parasite or chemical substances causes diseases ranging from diarrhoea to cancers. It also creates a vicious cycle of disease and malnutrition particularly affecting infants, young children, the elderly and the sick.”
She further explained that foodborne diseases are on the rise in various parts of the world as they are a public health problem which cause high rate of mortality.
“Foodborne diseases are a growing public health problem throughout the world and cause a considerable burden of disability and mortality,” she said.
Dr. Sarpong again explained that chemicals in food can cause problems in the kidney, liver and other organs in the body.
She encouraged health personnel to train their colleagues on food safety and also fill forms from the FDA to help improve data and policies on food safety surveillance system and response in Ghana.
Foodborne diseases commonly known include Hepatitis A and E, Cholera and Dysentery.
Source:dailyguidenetwork.com