Is that food safe?
Jun 05, 2007
THE restaurant is packed with customers. Some are standing, while others wait to sit. There are flies hovering at the tables, from the rubbish pit nearby.
By Maureen Nakatudde
THE restaurant is packed with customers. Some are standing, while others wait to sit. There are flies hovering at the tables, from the rubbish pit nearby.
The plates are very oily, maybe because they are washed from the same water in the huge saucepan and dried with the same dirty cloth. The woman who is serving matooke keeps sneezing and wiping her soiled hands on her old, dirty gomesi.
Such places, sadly, still attract customers, in spite of the appalling conditions.
Nelly Birungi, a nutritionist in Mulago Hospital, says: “If the cheap food is in dirty environs, you can get diarrhoea, cholera, worms, stomach pains and dysentery.â€
According to Robert Odongo, a senior health environmentalist in the Ministry of Health, anybody who gets food poisoning from anywhere, has a right to report to the authorities like Kampala City Council (KCC) and sue the place.
“The area authorities are supposed to take the sample of food to the chemist to trace the origin of the contamination. You have to be compensated if it is proved that the eating place is responsible.â€
Odongo says the 1959 Food and Drug Act, is being improved and the minister is yet to present the new bill to Parliament.
Looking for a safe eating place
Odongo says the environment should be clean and spacious, with sufficient light and nicely established structures. It should also have a toilet and a bathroom, clean running water for cooking and boiled water for drinking.
The food handlers should observe strict personal hygiene. They should keep their nails short and clean, hair covered and be free from infections like flu. They should have protective clothes and customers.
Utensils and cutlery should be kept clean. The place should have safe storage and food should be covered. It is also good to know the source of water and market where the food is got. Report all places that do not ensure hygiene to the relevant authorities.
Licensing an eating place
Mohammed Kirumira, a health inspector in KCC, says inspection of eating places is only done around October and
Kirumira says people are supposed to get certification by the medical officer, but in most cases they do not. The town clerk in every division is not supposed to license any premises which are not given a health certificate. “But people take advantage of lack of coordination between the offices of the clerk and public health department.â€
Premises can be closed if they have poor hygiene, lack a toilet, have leaking water, no kitchen and dirty surroundings.
THE restaurant is packed with customers. Some are standing, while others wait to sit. There are flies hovering at the tables, from the rubbish pit nearby.
The plates are very oily, maybe because they are washed from the same water in the huge saucepan and dried with the same dirty cloth. The woman who is serving matooke keeps sneezing and wiping her soiled hands on her old, dirty gomesi.
Such places, sadly, still attract customers, in spite of the appalling conditions.
Nelly Birungi, a nutritionist in Mulago Hospital, says: “If the cheap food is in dirty environs, you can get diarrhoea, cholera, worms, stomach pains and dysentery.â€
According to Robert Odongo, a senior health environmentalist in the Ministry of Health, anybody who gets food poisoning from anywhere, has a right to report to the authorities like Kampala City Council (KCC) and sue the place.
“The area authorities are supposed to take the sample of food to the chemist to trace the origin of the contamination. You have to be compensated if it is proved that the eating place is responsible.â€
Odongo says the 1959 Food and Drug Act, is being improved and the minister is yet to present the new bill to Parliament.
Looking for a safe eating place
Odongo says the environment should be clean and spacious, with sufficient light and nicely established structures. It should also have a toilet and a bathroom, clean running water for cooking and boiled water for drinking.
The food handlers should observe strict personal hygiene. They should keep their nails short and clean, hair covered and be free from infections like flu. They should have protective clothes and customers.
Utensils and cutlery should be kept clean. The place should have safe storage and food should be covered. It is also good to know the source of water and market where the food is got. Report all places that do not ensure hygiene to the relevant authorities.
Licensing an eating place
Mohammed Kirumira, a health inspector in KCC, says inspection of eating places is only done around October and
Kirumira says people are supposed to get certification by the medical officer, but in most cases they do not. The town clerk in every division is not supposed to license any premises which are not given a health certificate. “But people take advantage of lack of coordination between the offices of the clerk and public health department.â€
Premises can be closed if they have poor hygiene, lack a toilet, have leaking water, no kitchen and dirty surroundings.