LCC, KuHes roll out training for food handlers

MALAWI: The Lilongwe City Council (LCC) and Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (KUHes) Mentors have embarked on a two-day training aimed at drilling food handlers in food management.

Food handlers who are attending the training are from various food production companies in the country which include; Bakers Pride, Castel Malawi, Capital Bakery, Crossroads Pizza Inn, Kings Meal, KFC, and Kapani Meat Products among others.

Speaking during the opening of the training on Monday at KUHes campus in Lilongwe, LCC Deputy Director of Health, Thokozani Mkaka said that they decided to organize the training after noticing food handlers laxity in observing food safety measures.

“It has been observed that there is laxity in terms of management of food among our colleagues who are into the business of food making and we have evidence concerning this issue based on complaints from their clients.

“For this reason, as city council together with KUHes Mentors we decided to call food handlers from various food production companies so that we should try to address some of the things which are done ignorantly or out of negligence during food processing causing food to be unsafe,” Mkaka said.

Commenting on the same, KUHes Mentors President, Billy Khembo said that there is an increase of diseases among people in the country which are caused by consumption of unsafe food; hence the drilling of food handlers in food management would help to reduce the challenge.

“Currently there is a very big number of diseases which are being caused by consumption of unsafe food and some examples of these diseases are; diarrhea, typhoid, cancer as well as cholera.

“Therefore drilling food handlers in food management would help to equip these food handlers with skills that would assist them to process safe food hence food-borne diseases would be reduced,” he said.

In her remarks, one of the food handlers who attended the training who is Kapani Meat Products Production Manager, Peggy Rebelo commended LCC and KUHes Mentors for organizing the training.

“The training is very important as it will enlighten us on how to handle the food that we produce for the public,” Rebelo said.