Accra, July 17, GNA - The Food and Drugs Board (FDB) on Thursday launched the Clean Market Project to showcase a model market where good sanitation and food handling practices could promote food safety. When the principles applied for the pilot project are successful, it would be rolled out in other markets, Mr. Kofi Essel, Head, Inspectorate, Food Division, FDB said in Accra on Thursday as part of the on-going Sixth National Food Safety Week. It is on the theme: "Clean Market, Safe Food, A Healthy People."

Organised by the Food and Drugs Board (FDB) the week-long activities include a series of seminars for market women and market queens, market administrators, environmental health officers on market sanitation and safe food handling practices. It is to address the problems of unhygienic environment, improper agricultural practices at all stages of the food chain, lack of preventive controls in food processing, misuse of agro-chemicals and use of contaminated raw materials, which pose health hazards to the health of the population.

Explaining the modalities for the project, Mr. Essel, said it would be preceded by a hygiene competition among the major markets within Greater Accra Region and Kasoa in the Central Region. He said the month for the assessment would be communicated to the market administrators but the exact days would be unannounced after which a winner would be announced and enrolled into the project.