The Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has said that the state government was putting measures in place to check the use of harmful fruit ripening agents, which expose the public to health risks. The governor, who said this in Benin during the inaugural World Food Safety Day, assured that Edo State’s Food and Nutrition Committee will check the unhealthy practices.

According to him, the committee was working to develop sustainable strategies to ensure foods produced and consumed in the state are safe for public consumption, especially the use of harmful fruit ripening agents such as calcium carbide. “As we commemorate the World Food Safety Day, we will continue to advance and implement policies which encourage the consumption of healthy and nutritious food. Eating healthy and highly nutritious food goes a long way in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. We are putting mechanisms in place to check this injurious practice and other associated underhand tricks that fuel unhealthy food production,” he said.

Obaseki said some of the strategies include; farmer education on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP); sensitisation of traders and consumer education, among others. Obaseki said relevant agricultural agencies with responsibility to check food safety have also been put on notice to conduct regular checks at farm-gates and other points in the food distribution chain. “We will work with stakeholders and groups to sensitise and assist farmers and other persons in the food chain to deploy the right skills in ensuring that foods are safe from production to consumption, through processing, storage and distribution,” he said.

SOURCE:DAILY TRUST