We’ll make food businesses comply with international standards —LASCOPA

The Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency (LASCOPA) has reiterated its commitment to ensuring that food businesses in the state adhere to global rules and regulations.

Speaking at this year’s Lagos State Food Safety Conference and Exhibition,organized by the agency,  recently, in the state, the General Manager of the agency, Mr. Afolabi Solebo, argued that the move was necessary to enable the agency carry out one of its mandates of preventing consumers in the state from food-borne diseases.

He expressed the agency’s determination to  transform food systems, to enable it deliver better health  in a sustainable manner; since one in ten consumers suffer from food-borne diseases, annually.

Solebo explained that the decision to organize the food safety conference stemmed from the utmost priority  and attention given to the issue of food safety among consumers in the state; considering the ripple effects of unwholesome food items to the human body.

According to him, this year’s edition of the conference, tagged ‘Safer Food, Better Health’, was designed to reiterate the importance of safe food as one of the most critical guarantors for good health; since unsafe foods contribute to other poor health conditions, such as impaired growth and development, micronutrient deficiencies and other diseases.

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While expressing the agency’s readiness to implement recommendations made at the conference, the LASCOPA boss stated that the agency had already adopted some of the recommendations, within its powers,  made at the maiden edition of the conference, held last year.

“For instance, the suggestion on the need for improvement on the enlightenment and advocacy campaign on consumer right as it relates to food safety was adopted by the agency and it has been greatly improved upon,” he added.

Commending the agency for bringing the issue of food safety to the front burner, one of the speakers, Professor (Mrs) Olayinka Henshaw,  described issues relating to food safety as global and beyond public health.