Unchecked imported foods entering our market

A stern call has again been made by state authorities, such as the Health minister, that all imported foods into this country should be thoroughly checked before they are allowed to be distributed and sold in our markets.

Re-echoing this call is quite essential because, occasionally, foods that are substandard or are not too good for human consumption are consciously or unconsciously allowed to find their way into this country for our consumption.

This poses serious threat and risk to our health and lives in the country.

“Some of the foodstuff we see being sold in the country we don’t even know where they come from,” the health minister said at a recent business forum held in Banjul.

It is really a serious concern where imported foods flooding our market for our consumption are not thoroughly checked and made not to pass through the right channels.

No wonder, we see often different kinds of food items in the market.

For instance, there are so many types of tin milk in our market. And most of them  have taste that  leaves much to be desired, as we are forced to consume them due to the  fact that they are  the ones available  on the  shelves  of our shop keepers, mini markets or supermarkets across the country.

This situation needs to be monitored and corrected or redress for the good of our nation.

This is because we cannot afford to live or survive on imported foods that enter the country without proper checks.

Substandard and stale food products cause a lot of harm to our health, and increase the health bills of the individual, as well as the state.

It is, therefore, good that the most senior health official in our country is raising the issue of properly checking all imported foods into the country.

“While most foods that enter this country are checked, some are not,” the health minister said.

Indeed the issue must be highlighted and mechanisms put in place to frustrate or curb such lethal acts.

The barking dog, they say, keeps the thief away. So let’s continue to talk about it and frustrate such happenings in our nation.

“A healthy outside starts from the inside,”

Robert Urich