Govt calls for strenthening of food safety regulations

Government says there is need to enforce regulations that guarantee food safety in a bid to eliminate threats which may be detrimental to good health.

Speaking during a media briefing this morning on activities planned to commemorate this year’s World Health Day under the theme: “Food Safety”, Community Development, Mother and Child Health Minister Emerine Kabanshi says unsafe food has a negative effect on National Development.

Ms Kabanshi says in this regard manufacturers of food products in the country have a responsibility to ensure that they carefully handle the way they process different types of foods.

She states that statistics show that unsafe food causes more than 200 diseases ranging from diarrhea to cancers with food borne and water borne diarrhea diseases killing an estimated 2million people worldwide annually the majority being children.

Ms Kabanshi adds that guarding against food poisoning as well as germs in the production process is key to saving lives and avoids contracting communicable diseases in communities and the nation at large.

She also points out that unsafe food has a negative effect on the socio economic development of the nation in that it strains health care systems and harms the economy.