More than thirty women of Tanuli Ridge in East Honiara, have concluded a two-day workshop on Food Safety and Hygiene with the Honiara City Council Health Promotion Department on Wednesday last week.
Organized by Acting City Mayor and Councilor for ward nine (9) Robert Oge, the workshop was held at the Kukum Catholic Parish Hall in East Honiara.
It covered a range of topics including food preservation, storage, pest control, waste management and approval procedures for the food business.
Ella Rizwold a senior officer of the HCC team told the participants that complying with the country’s food safety measures is very important when handling food for public consumption.
She highlighted that as the country’s population increases, the need for food and mainly cooked food would also increase.
“We will never outgrow the need for food. But we want to achieve a standard where every food stall in the country meets all the basic safety measures. This is important.”
At the closing, Councilor Oge commended the women and encouraged them to utilize their newfound knowledge and skills.
“As you know the new Kukum market in our ward will open soon and this course will go a long way because it will assist you in making sure the food you prepare to sell there meets the HCC’s basic safety food regulations.
“We should have another training to further sharpen your skills.”
Francina Ega conveyed her appreciation on behalf of the participants.
She acknowledged Councilor Oge for responding to the women’s call, and the HCC facilitators for their expertise and time.
“We appreciate your assistance. We look forward to putting the new information and ideas into practice.”
The women requested the workshop after recognizing a strong need to obtain information on how to prepare food that observes the criteria of the Honiara City Council.
They first approached the Councilor for assistance in 2020.
However, the workshop had to be postponed due to issues including the ongoing Corona Virus. The women did not give up and continued to remind Councilor Oge.
It was a joy and relief for them to finally attend the workshop when it started on Tuesday this week.
Most of the participants included young girls with their mothers or mothers with their daughters-in-law.
The HCC’s Health Promotion Department will issue certificates to the women recognizing their completion of the training.
