TANGUB CITY, Misamis Occidental (PIA)–As part of the city’s initiative against the dreaded COVID-19, the city government here together with the Tourism Council has conducted the Food Handling and COVID-19 Information Campaign at Gov. Alfonso D. Tan College Conference Room, March 10.
The campaign sought to raise the level of awareness on food handling and safety procedures to prevent the proliferation of illnesses and viruses, as it also provided insights, understanding and information on the status of the globally alarming zoonotic disease which is the COVID-19.
Sonny Lyn. S. Alave, an advocate for healthy eating, shared her knowledge about food handling and safety procedures, presenting four safety procedures to avoid food contamination and poisoning such as identify hazard and risks, follow enterprise hygiene, standards, procedures and practices, handle and store food stuffs and follow safety program.
Meanwhile, Dr. Janice Biete, city health officer, discussed the global, national and provincial reports of the number of confirmed covid-19 cases as of March 10.
Biete also shared self-protection measures and avoiding fake news saying, “N- Never share unverified news/Articles; C- Check your sources before sharing; O- Only source of information from DOH official channels and V- Verify news information at: www.doh.gov.ph/2019- nCOV.”
On the other hand, Yeni Ann Isabella W. Tan shared the data and statistics on COVID-19, how deadly the virus is, how it spreads, its symptoms and implications on the person’s body.
She also encouraged everyone to practice personal hygiene, the simple and cost effective way to prevent such a disease.
Mayor Jennifer W. Tan encouraged everyone especially the food handlers to boost the campaign in maintaining proper hygiene by following the procedures and measures discussed.
The city officials will also conduct a quarterly inspection to every business establishment. Each establishment is provided with a “health board” that contains stars. A star is an indicator that the store has passed the health inspection.
“Dili lang pod ni para sa amoa, kundi para pod ni sa inyong negosyo ug customer (This is not only for us, but for your customers as well). Take care and love your customer. You don’t have to be afraid of big companies so long as your services contain love and caring for the customer, as well as personal hygiene,” Tan emphasized.
The “Food Safety Act of 2013” is a joint Department of Agriculture-Department of Health (DA-DOH) administrative order which aims to protect consumer health and facilitate market access of local foods and food products. (City Information Office/PIA10)
