PROLIFERATION OF UNAUTHORIZED STREET FOOD VENDORS WITH MAKESHIFT FOOD OUTLETS IN CITIES, TOWNS. MUNICIPALITIES AND OTHER AREAS
The Government Analyst Food and Drug Department (GA-FDD), the City Public Health Department (CPHD), and Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) from the Regions and Municipalities, have noticed a significant increase/proliferation of unauthorized street vending stalls (makeshift food outlets) in Georgetown, the Municipalities, several Regions and other outlying areas.
This issue was recently deliberated at our National Food Safety and Control Committee (NFSCC) meeting hosted in January and February of 2021 among Food Safety Officers.
A decision was taken to highlight this issue publicly and to commence sensitization and enforcement action nationwide to ensure operators (particularly food street vendors are in compliance with the basic requirements to protect consumers and keep food safe.
Herein under are those basic requirements:
1 Adequate facilities to keep food above 64 cif kept for longer than two 12 hours (warmers or to keep food cold/chill under 8’e (chillers).
2 Access to potable running water
3. Adequate garbage disposal facilities, and
4. Possession of a valid Food Handlers ID Card.
The NFSCC believes that if the four very basic requirements are satisfied, street vended food would be protected from the associated risks, customers would be less likely to be affected with food borne illnesses, and vendors would be able to continue their trade.
In 2005 the Pan- American Health Organization (PAHO) conducted a burden of illness study where it was determined that diarrhea illness is very common in Guyana with 7.7 % of our population being affected annually. At the time, this figure was significantly higher than other countries in the Caribbean. Reasons for the high prevalence of diarrhea cited by the Study include, inter alia, a large number of makeshift food outlets, the unavailability of potable water, inadequate waste disposal and unlicensed food vendors.
In light of the above, Officers at the NFSCC meeting agreed that action would be taken against street food vendors who fail to comply with the basic food hygiene requirements when plying their trade. Assistance will be solicited from the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the Regional Health Officers (RHO) and the Senior Environmental Health Office of each region, so that support can be given to EHO’S (Inspectors when carrying out sensitization exercises and/or enforcement action. (Press Release)
