Basseterre, St. Kitts (January 12, 2007): Fifty-four seminar participants from the nine Caribbean Cricket World Cup host countries prepared action plans including timelines with the objective of training food handlers who will be operating during the 2007 sporting event and beyond.
Participants were educated on food preparation issues ranging from personal hygiene and pests to potentially hazardous foods and sanitation. Each participant is versed in food safety in his or her own right and according to Mr. Kenneth Harvey, Facilitator and Project Officer of the Caribbean Development Bank they came up with a standardized plan.
One of the last features of the symposium included a question and answer session, moderated by Mr. Augustine Merchant of the St. Kitts and Nevis Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) office, which emphasized key topics of the weeks training.
Senior Environmental Health Officer, Mr. Carleton Frank, who sat on the panel, gave some factors that influence the survival, growth and multiplication of germs and bacteria. He said that the temperature could either kill them or enable them to grow in numbers.
Mr. Frank said that food that is hot and steams destroys germs as does food that is very cold which also prevents them from multiplying. He emphasized that hot food should be kept hot and cold food should be kept cold. The Senior Environmental Health Officer said that the amount of time that foods are left at room temperature is also important considering that bacteria multiplies every 20 minutes. As such, if food remains at room temperature for two, three or four hours, when it is consumed it can make the person sick.
Mr. Lionel Michael of Antigua touched on the issue of wearing appropriate apparel when preparing and serving food. He said that food should not be served with sleeveless clothes, nail extension and the like because these are serious health concerns. He noted the possibility that perspiration can drip into food, and even hair can fall in brining germs into the food. Mr. Michael emphasized that as little of the skin should be exposed when preparing or serving food to prevent contamination from the human body.
Mr. Leonard King of Barbados shared some information about the danger of pests. He said that rodents, roaches and flies carry micro-organisms or germs on their legs, bodies and in their urine and faeces and carry diseases such as salmonella.
He said that among the mentioned pests some 20 diseases can be passed to humans. Other food safety factors mentioned included appropriate methods for hand washing, cleaning and sanitization, potentially hazardous foods, food storage and preparation, cross contamination and use of potable or treated water.
Each participant is expected to receive support financial and otherwise from the public and private sectors in their various countries that will enable them to share this information with their local food handlers who will prepare food during and after Cricket World Cup 2007.
