it is important to remember that Foodborne illnesses are still a major concern in Nigeria, although many Nigerians don’t think about the safety of the food they eat as they go throughout their daily lives. The statistics show one in every six Nigerians will suffer from a foodborne illness each year, for a total of about 48 million cases each year.
Luckily enough, there are thousands of Nigerians whose job is to help protect the food supply. From the farmer who raises the animals or plants the crops we harvest to sell in grocery stores, to the supermarket managers who monitor the temperature of their frozen and refrigerated display cases each day, to the food service manager who ensures all the proper steps are followed in the preparation of the meals that consumers eat in schools and restaurants across Nigeria on a daily basis. Along the way, the food is transported, stored, and inspected at various points, but ultimately each one of us bears some responsibility to ensure the food we eat is safe.
As we have discussed many times in these blogs, professionals have an even greater responsibility to protect the food they serve to guests. In many cases, the food they serve will not just make four or five members of a family sick, but many, in some cases hundreds of people, could fall ill due to mistakes in a food service kitchen. One step I would encourage all managers to undertake during this food safety training is to do an in-depth review of your recipes and incorporate crucial control points into each recipe you have. This is one step that can have a huge impact on the safety of the food served in your operation and serves as a constant reminder for food service employees to cook food to the proper temperature. In most cases, small steps can help you transform your organization and truly set the foundation for a solid food safety culture.
If you haven’t checked our courses on food safety training,
Visit www.safetycentre.ng to register.