Osun Govt. Monitors Activities Of Food Vendors, Says Ex-commissioner

Prof. Oyawoye Bukola, an Environmentalist and former Commissioner for Environment, Osun, said the state has food inspectors that monitors and oversees activities of food vendors in the state.
Bukola, who made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday, said government was in partnership with Food Vendors Association to ensure standard and hygiene.
She explained that food vendors’ association in the state was well organised, saying that it also regulates activities of food vendors to make sure they keep up to standard.
She added that the food vendors association was part of the stakeholders’ forum of the state ministry of environment which helps to monitor food vendors’ activities in the state.
The ex-commissioner said whenever the association report vendors that are defiant and don’t keep to standard for hygienic in food preparation, the state task force (environmental officers) go after them.
Officers are deployed to visit such vendors’ places of operation and sometimes sanction them when found guilty.
She said from time to time, the ministry holds interactive meetings with executive members of the food vendors association in the state.
According to her, consultants are also engaged to go round and check the environment and quality of water used by the food vendors to prepare their foods.
Bukola said in some cases where vendors were at fault, the first thing they do was to correct and educate them.
She also said when unregistered food vendors were seen hawking, they stop such a vendor, and ascertain where he/she prepared the food.
Bukola said the effort was to safe guard the health of the people and to make sure the food was prepared under hygienic conditions.
(NAN)