Oyo govt seals off 5 bakeries and 2 eateries

…charges food eateries, bakeries, other food businesses to register

By Ogundele Olanrewaju

Oyo state government has sealed off five bakeries and 2 eateries in Ibadan for non-registration of the premise with the health ministry, unsanitary environment, training of staff and staffs not medical certified to handle food for public consumption.

The Director, Food, Water and laboratory Services, Mrs. Afusat Akande, who led the team of inspectors to seal the bakeries and eateries, said the establishments were sealed after many visits and warnings to comply with regulations that govern food business in the state.

According to Mrs. Akande, increasingly people now eat out and buy confectionaries, and as such ensuring that these were wholesome for consumption the Oyo Health ministry intends to enforce based on the state’s 2012 regulation on food, water, and related products.

She declared, “the department has to make sure that whatever we consume is wholesome, so we are out to enforce the 2012 regulation on food, water, and related products; it is a major concern to the government.

“We have visited all these facilities several times, but unfortunately they remain recalcitrant. Anything that has to do with food and water for public consumption is our area of concern.
“Presently, as a country, we are faced with the issue of cholera. We are concerned about the quality of water they use in preparing the food. One of the bakeries we sealed today was sealed way back in 2013. An outbreak of Lassa fever was traced to it. Even today, the bakery is dirty as ever before, so we have to seal it.”

Mrs. Akande said workers in food eateries, bakeries, and other food businesses need to be certified medically fit every 6 months to ensure that they are not carriers of foodborne germs like thyroid fever and Lassa fever.