Cooked food sales ‘illegal’

By YVONNE KAMBIBEL
THE sale of cooked food in schools around the city is illegal and strongly discouraged by the National Capital District Health Authority.
Director of Public Health Dr Amos Lano clarified why the public health authority (PHA) is strongly against the activity.
Firstly, he said, there were health provisions that were required to set up food stalls, restaurants etc, so under the Food and Beverages Licence Act, all food and beverages should be sold at commercialised and proper set ups and not in public areas or roadsides where they were exposed to dust and germs.
Dr Amos said the sale of cooked food near school premises in the city had to stop.
“When we are talking about school children, we need to also talk about the right kinds of food for them,” he said.
“All sweet foods will contribute to tooth decay while unbalanced meals would result in loss of appetite in children and poor preparation and water contamination would result in food poisoning.”
Dr Amos added that during this Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, it was crucial to avoid all cooked food in public spaces, school-side markets and even in the offices.
He emphasised that NCD had a high transmission rate in tuberculosis and one way of preventing transmissions was by discouraging the sale of food in public spaces.
“Laws should be collaboratively enforced by NCDC health authorities, school administrations and boards and the Education Department to ban the sale of cooked food on the streets, in schools and along the roadsides.
“We need to do this to safeguard our children from being infected with all kinds of water and food-borne diseases,” he said.
Education secretary Dr Uke Kombra supported the call by the NCDPHA for a collaborative effort in addressing the issue.
He said the department had issued a directive banning the sale of cooked food in schools from 2018-2019 and there was a complete ban for some time but since school started, there has been sale of cooked food outside school gates.
“Parents have the responsibility to provide proper meals for their children who are in school instead of giving them lunch money to buy food sold outside their school premises,” he said.
The National spoke to a few head teachers and principals who said school administrations have never been involved in any form of formal arrangements between the school administration and sellers.
One of them who wished to remain anonymous said: “We don’t tell or ask them to come and sell cooked food to our students, they come by their own will and to ask them to leave would be challenging for us, especially when they are not selling in the school premises but outside, along school fences.”