FOLLOWING the diarrhea outbreak incident in Toril, Davao City, the City Health Office (CHO) is looking at requiring ambulant or street vendors to present health certificates upon processing permits to prevent a similar incident.
CHO Head Dr. Ashley Lopez said in an interview with SunStar Davao on July 26 that they will implement this for the whole city and not only in Toril.
Last week, a diarrhea outbreak broke out in the south of Davao City with Toril being the most affected area. A total of 288 cases were recorded as of July 26 with five casualties.
Recently, around 400 Toril vendors attended and were trained on food handling as part of their interventions to prevent another diarrhea outbreak.
“Atong ma-providan gyud nato sila og kanang unsa mga precautions, health information, unsay dapat himoon or dili, especially on food handling [and] preparation kay diha man gud ang culprit sa mga infections ug contamination (We will put in place precautionary measures like health information or how to handle and prepare food because we are seeing that mishandling of food could be the cause of infections or contaminations),” Lopez said.
Aida Mozo, Sanitation Inspection of the CHO-Environmental Sanitation Division, said in an interview on 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio on Thursday, July 28, that Toril vendors will be required to get a health card certification as part of their requirement.
Mozo said an inspection, particularly on the where and how the vendors prepare their food, will be conducted before they will be issued with a health card.
“Kailangan nila makita kung asa gina-prepare ang pagkaon. Importante man kaayo na siya nga makita nato ang preparation area sa usa ka tindahan,” she said.
She also reiterated her reminders to all vendors that they should ensure that their area for food preparation must be sanitized. In addition, she said that vendors should have a separate container for the raw and cooked foods, while the food must comply with its advisable temperature storage.
Also, she said food vendors must wear hairnets, the water they must use is safe for usage, and food must have a container and cover to avoid dust and insects from contaminating it.
Meanwhile, vendors at the Roxas Night Market were informed that a sanction of one-week suspension will be given to anyone who will be caught leaving the ice on the floor. Vendors are expected to put the ice if they are selling drinks in an icebox to make sure that any contamination will be avoided.
Noronisa Macalnas, one of the vendors, told SunStar Davao that they welcome the policy to ensure that the drinks they sell are safe. Furthermore, she said that they are also required to submit a test report of their water and ice plant supplier. (RGL)