Senior staff of Food Safety and Quality Authority, FSQA, are on a country tour which seeks to promote food safety standards in the country.

FSQA director general Mamudou Bah, who is leading the team, said the visit would help create dialogue and strengthen partnership and share future plans of the agency, adding efforts are put on the table to motivate staff and empower the agency to respond to the health of the population.

“Good quality food consumption calls for collective collaboration with all partners to ensure food produce and consumption in the country are of good quality to improve the health of the population, “he said.

According to him, plans are underway to establish permanent regional offices for staff to enhance effective and efficient service delivery.

He said governors’ offices are key in harnessing and hosting collaboration with stakeholders to ensure proper food control and regulation, adding regulations are key which calls on the security to support the implementation of food safety act.

 He said plans are in place to build the capacity of the business community to ensure compliance on the quality of food consumed and produced.

Sana Jawara, director of food control, said the visit will accord the team to hear from authorities and called for closer collaboration and networking with regional staff to ensure compliance in promoting food safety.

NBR governor Ebrima KS Dampha hailed the team’s effort for their freight in touring the country to promote standard of food safety.

“The visit demonstrated the sound leadership quality to hear from stakeholders and authorities on how food safety issues are addressed,” he said.

He assured of his office support to the agency saying “food safety should be every business and would help to strengthen the decentralisation process of empowering authorities and communities.”

Alasan Sanneh Senior Social Welfare Officer at Department of Social Welfare, however said: “Covid-19 has temporal closure of schools and therefore closer collaboration would help to protect consumers, proper orientation of food vendors before the opening of schools.”

Reporting by Adama Makasuba