By Aabigayle McIntosh

The Central Board of Health (CBH) hosted two different sessions at the Multipurpose Culture on food safety for mass gatherings events, the first of its kind to be held in Antigua and Barbuda as the government continues to advance plans for the staging of the 4^th International Conference on Small Island Developing States SIDS4.

Deputy Chief Health Inspector Daryll Spencer said the training is crucial for the May 27^th to 30^th conference, the hosting of the World Cup Cricket), Sailing Week, and other major events that will be hosted in the country this year.

Most importantly he also pointed out that SIDS vendors who are not trained will not be able to ply their trade.

“Considering during SIDS especially where we will be having a lot of high-value assets in Antigua, our food vendors must be well equipped with the information necessary to ensure we do not have a crisis because we will be dealing with people with dietary and cultural requirements and those are the group of people that we would have to ensure that we keep safe,” Spencer said.

The training, he said, focused on experiential learning facilitated by officials from the Caribbean Public Health Agency, CARPHA.

The training will continue throughout the year to cover other upcoming events. He is hoping the vendors will put into practice what they are taught during these critical sessions.

“Over the years we have recognized that we have some challenges with temperature abuse foods brought out and they are not kept at the right temperature. We have had some training in general sanitation and keeping things clean, so for me, the greatest hope is that the vendors walk away and they practice what they are taught,” Spencer said.

The CBH Boss said the state entity has taken a position to ensure that food establishments serve safe food and they have been ramping up inspections on the evening and weekends to ensure compliance.