Basseterre, St. Kitts (July 05, 2006): The safety of food sold in restaurants, on the streets or at events with regional and international tourist pull is an often overlooked aspect of keeping visitors returning to St. Kitts and Nevis.
The Environmental Health Department is caretaker of this critical aspect of ensuring that locals and visitors alike can eat foods prepared outside of the home. Coordinator of Food Safety Mr. Carleton Frank said that while Health Inspectors visit the permanent eating institutions, it is beneficial for a vendor to be properly certified by getting a food handler's permit. He explained that there are certain requirements including food handler training.
This includes getting a physical from a physician, including blood tests and the like which have to be sent to a laboratory. There is also training on food safety which takes place at the Basseterre Health Centre two times per month, one on the second Wednesday and one on the fourth Wednesday. The department also accommodates special requests for training.
Recently the Environmental Health Department held special sessions for vendors attending the Digicel Cricket Series, Green Valley Festival and Music Festival.
Mr. Frank added that the prospective food handler also has to bring two ID-sized photographs, one of which is placed on the permit and the other on record. There is also a $20 processing fee for the permit. He emphasized that the procedure to obtain a food handlers' permit in St. Kitts and Nevis is very simple compared to elsewhere.
The Coordinator of Food Safety also said that the education side of the process is most important because soon-to-be food handlers need to realize that they have the health of the persons that they feed in their hands. He also explained that the young, the old and the sick are most prone to get the worst cases of food poisoning. Mr. Frank said they are very susceptible to food bourne illness and can die. He said only the strong survive and even when they survive they can carry organisms that will affect them later in life. He stressed that it is very important that persons who handle food be very, very careful and follow the recommended procedures to ensure the good health of their clients.
~~Adz:Right~~The next Environmental Health Department Food Handlers' Workshop takes place July 12, 2006.
