09 Jun 2021

Food inspectorates in different ministries have been called upon to collaborate to ensure that all standards of food safety are adhered to.

Speaking at a World Food Safety Day in Gaborone on Monday, the National Food Control Board member, Ms Motlhagodi Molomo said it was important for the inspectorates to do more in terms of putting in place measures for food safety and quality assurance.

Furthermore, she urged the public to be vigilant and have knowledge on basic food safety measure to ensure that their health was protected.

Ms Molomo said food safety ranged from the preparations, handling and storage, saying often times, food products may encounter a number of health hazards during their journey through the supply chain. 

She, therefore, called on safe food-handling practices and procedures to be implemented at every stage of food production life cycle in order to curb those risks and prevent harm to consumers.

“Botswana, like any government around the world, is intensifying efforts to improve food safety for a healthy tomorrow,”,she said.

She said that was due to a response to an increasing number of food safety problems and rising consumer concerns and complaints, adding that most people had become sick and eventually died as a result of consuming contaminated food.

Ms Molomo said all food handlers had to ensure that Batswana consume healthy food, adding that it was important that all learn more about food safety and healthy eating.

“We need to have a good command of food safety and hygiene techniques for it is essential for any food industry professional,” she said.

Meanwhile, she indicated that there were food safety concerns regarding street vendors, food scavenging from the dumping site and resale to the public, ignorance of food safety laws by most members of the public and some food processors, manufacturers and some retailers.

She called on the retailers to improve hygiene and handling of food, especially in these times of COVID-19.

Ms Molomo mentioned that due to COVID-19 job losses, many people resorted to food vending and catering, and therefore said the issue of hygienic handling and storage of the meals during preparation was worrisome, adding that soiled and contaminated foods were not just unpleasant to eat, but could cause serious injury and illness.

She also spoke on the quality of water used in the production of vegetables that it should be safe for the intended purpose.

Nevertheless, Ms Molomo said to a certain extent, the food processing sector had improved in terms of adhering to standards pertaining to food safety such as appropriate and clean buildings, further adding that raw material standards produced by Botswana Bureau of Standards were in place, such as sorghum, flour and maize meal standards, which she encouraged all industries to adopt to ensure compliance. Ms Molomo said the UN Food Safety System was in preparation of a global Food Summit Forum slated for October, saying the purpose of the summit was to achieve healthier, more sustainable and equitable food systems contributing towards the theme of Safe Food Now For a Healthy Tomorrow.

She said it was sad that Batswana had totally moved away from consumption of indigenous food, which used to feed people before the introduction of processed and fortified foods.

She, therefore, urged Batswana to go back to the roots of eating balanced meal from their fields and supplement them with fresh goat or cow milk, including madila and or mosukujane tea to provide both macro and micro nutrients.

“Other countries have done that” she said. ends