EDITORIAL
Food vendors plying their trade during the culmination of this year’s May Day celebratory Street Parade at Browne’s Beach, Bay Street St. Michael, were strongly urged from the get go, to comply with all the food handling rules and regulations, laid down by the Health Ministry.
They were put on guard early, that they must adhere to all food handling guidelines or the food they had taken time to prepare would likely be dumped, if it was found not fit for consumption. Therefore, in essence, comply or face the consequences, plain and simple.
Orlando ‘Gabby’ Scott, Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU) Senior Assistant General Secretary and co-ordinator for the May Day Celebrations, acknowledged that there had been problems in the past with food vendors not complying with the regulations and as such, food had to be thrown away. He stressed that even though this action was frowned upon by some, it is done in the public’s interest.
“We have had some problems where food has had to be thrown away. We don’t like to see that, but we can understand why the Ministry is taking the position it does,” Scott remarked in a recent publication.
“We don’t like to see it done, but people have to understand that health is important and the Ministry of Health has its responsibility to ensure that Barbadians are kept healthy. So therefore, we like to emphasise to the vendors and to the caterers that you need to comply,” he added, noting that training sessions would be held for the food vendors and caterers and those who work in their stalls.
Now this issue of food vendors being urged to comply with food handling regulations, is nothing new. It usually surfaces around the Crop Over season and vendors constantly have to be reminded that they must do their best not to place the public in harm’s way, via their actions. In essence, food must be prepared in a hygienic setting and prepared meals that are supposed to be hot, should be kept hot and foods that are supposed to be cold, must be kept cold. We cannot have patrons coming out to events in the peak of health, only to suffer from some food borne illness, resulting from food spoilage or contamination. We also cannot have disgruntled patrons who, after paying their hard earned money, realise they cannot consume a meal, because some type of foreign matter is in it. As such, food handlers need to ensure that they refrain from wearing jewellery, cover their hair appropriately and watch what goes in to the pot. We must all realise that this heavy emphasis on ensuring food vendors comply with the set rules and regulations for handling food, is key, as the determination for the successful staging of any event, also hinges on these types of matters as well. No event planner wants the bad press that can come from an issue surrounding such a matter that could easily be avoided.
Therefore, it is hoped that as we go forward and even prepare to host other major events in Barbados, leading into the Crop Over period as well, that we will not see issues concerning vendors and their negative food handling practices. By now, most persons operating a food business or a stall or even selling food from a van, must know the guidelines for dress as well as the handling of food and more importantly, they need to ensure they obtain the required medical certificates ahead of time and ensure their workers do the same. The health and wellness of the populace depends on it.