The Director General of Food Safety and Quality Authority (FSQA) Mr Mamodou Bah, has told Gambia Daily that his agency is exploring alternative wrapping or packaging items for bread and other food; and that once that is found they will work towards legislation for ban on the use of newspapers to package such food. “This matter is a concern to everyone, but the subject is, even if the Authority has to ban the use of newspapers for food packaging there is no other option for replacement of newspaper yet,” he argued.
He announced that the Authority is making efforts to have packaging options for bread and other food items. “One step at a time; we will ensure that we have something better and I believe if we do, we will impose a law on it “Mr Bah assured.
The DG however urged the public to be self-regulatory, saying health is everyone’s business and that people should be very watchful of the things they consume. “When I was younger we used bags for bread; if you go to the shop to buy bread you put it inside the bag for food safety and healthy consumption,” he recalled.
He reiterated his office’s commitment to food safety in the country. He informed that the Authority is working on a memorandum of understanding with The Gambia Police Force to train them on food safety and chemical -related so that even vehicles carrying can also apply safety measures.
He concluded by highlighting some of the successes of his office, including increasing the staff to a total of 72, and posted them to offices in the regions; such as Kerewan, Farafenni, Wassu, Brikama and Brikamaba and border post across the country to ensure food safety for all.
People have been raising concern over the use of newspaper to wrap bread and other food items, particularly those imported from other countries to The Gambia. They believe it can negatively impact on public health and therefore called on authorities to check it out.
Mr Alagie Ceesay, a resident of Willigara, who is also a regular bread buyer said that packaging bread with newspaper is unhygienic because most of the time these newspapers are kept in contaminated places that are open to bacteria and other disease carrier organisms that can be harmful to public health.
Mrs Isatou Jallow, of Brikama, also lamented the manner in which food vendors use newspapers to wrap not only bread but also other food items.
“Some of these papers we use to wrap bread are imported and we do not know where they would be kept and which chemical they contain. Is a cause for concern and I think the authorities should help put a stop to it,” she admonished.
