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
