World Food Day: LASG Urges Residents On Safety

The Lagos state government has implored  residents to adhere to food safety regulations and compliance.

Speaking at this year’s World Food Safety Day in Lagos with the theme “Safer Food, Better Health,” the Director General, Lagos State Safety Commission, Lanre Mojola, explained that food safety is everyone’s responsibility – whether you grow food, process, transport, store, distribute, sell, prepare, serve or consume food, you have a role to play in keeping it safe.

“The international day is an opportunity to strengthen efforts to ensure that the food we eat is safe, mainstream food safety in the public agenda and reduce the burden of food-borne diseases globally.”

“And we are here to engage with the different sectoral participators, all the critical stakeholders across the food supply chains from the manufacturers to the eateries, also to  the regulators, to deliberate on how to make sure the food that we eat is safe.”

“We know that we are what we eat, at such, it is very important to ensure the supply chain is kept safe to reduce contamination, as well as the effect on hospitalisation, due to food poisoning among others,” he said

He also emphasised that the Lagos State Safety Commission is collaborating with other agencies of government to support safe food production and consumption through regular sensitization, advocacy and engagement with critical stakeholders to limit food-borne diseases and food poisoning across the state.

According to him: “Food Safety is the assurance that food will not cause harm to the consumer when it is prepared or eaten according to its intended use”.

“However, access to sufficient amount of safe food is key to sustaining life and promoting good health. Food-borne illnesses are usually infectious or toxic in nature and often invisible to the plain eye, caused by bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances entering the body through contaminated food or water”