Accra, Aug 5, GNA - The Ghana Traditional Caterers Association (GTCA), has set up a special fund to support the education and training of members to promote of the preparation of local cuisines.

Mr Emmanuel Ansong, Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Association told the Ghana News Agency in an interview on Tuesday that, the fund would also support the Metropolitan and District Assemblies in waste management nationwide. He said the Association had also initiated a micro-finance scheme to support members, orphans and vulnerable children. The Association, Mr Ansong said, had levied its 500,000 registered members, One Ghana cedi each to be invested in a venture for six months after which members would be reimbursed. He said a research conducted into food hygiene in 1996 on street food sellers in the country, revealed that majority of food vendors were uneducated and unskilled with no formal training in good food preparation. He regretted that chop bar operations in Ghana lacked adequate and appropriate infrastructure that could enhance food quality as well as the supply of potable water.

Mr Ansong mentioned inefficient and unreliable waste disposal system and unhygienic eating places as some of the major problems facing the Association. He said most food vendors were not aware of the possible sources and causes of contamination resulting from poor raw materials acquisition, during food preparation, storage, handling and final delivery to the consumer.

Mr Ansong said the study showed that raw materials for the preparation of food, especially those sold on the streets, constituted a potential source of microbiological contamination. He noted that another report on persistent diarrhoea in Ghana in 1997 also revealed that about 60 percent of parents in urban slums in Accra supplemented their children's diets with street food. Mr Ansong said the World Health Organisation has reiterated the need for food hygiene education for street food vendors to receive regular training on proper food processing, handling and storage. This he said was the rationale for the establishment of the Association's Fund.

Mr Ansong said the Association had called for the implementation of the food sanitation code, and the licensing of street food vendors. He also called on the Public Health Authorities to intensify their efforts at monitoring conditions of sanitation and hygiene in establishments serving food and drinks to unsuspecting public.