Professor Adewole: Nigeria’s minister of health

Food Hygiene Initiative of Nigeria (FHIN) on Saturday urged the Federal Gov­ernment and policy makers to implement laws and policies that would guarantee food safety in the country.

Mr Nicholas Karimu, the Director General of the Initiative made the call in Abuja during the graduation of 1,200 of its officers on Food Preservation, Admin­istration and Safety Practices.

Karimu said the three week training was conducted at the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corp Academy (NSCDC), Sauka, Airport Road, Abuja.

“We want the government, especially the policy makers, to make laws and policies that can guarantee food safety in the country.

“The bill seeks among other things the provision for the protection, promotion and fulfillment of the rights of Nigerians to have access to safe food and water.

“We therefore call on our lawmakers to give the bill a quick hearing and passage,” he said.

Karimu said such laws and policies were long overdue, adding that if implemented, it would go a long way in pro­moting confidence in foods produced in the country.

He wanted FHIN to be included in the budget in order to carry out oversight functions for implementation of its bill.

He said the essence of the training was to educate and train food handlers, op­erators and administrators of the hygiene and safety prac­tices across the country.

Karimu said that the overall goal of food hygiene initiative is for the achievement of safety prac­tices to prevent food related diseases.

In his remark, the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) Pro­vost, Mr Iliya Sarki, congratulated the officers for their commitment and zeal during the training.

He encouraged the trainees to represent the organisation positively and be good am­bassadors of food safety prac­tices.

Mr Musa Abdul, speaking on behalf of other trainees thanked the organisation for the successful completion of the training and promised to be good ambassador of food hygiene officer in the country.

(NAN)