JOHN JUNOR, the Minister of Health, said there has been a reduction in the incidence of travellers' diseases in the hospitality sector and foodborne illnesses in the general food trade stemming from last year's enactment and implementation of new public health regulations.
A high percentage of hotels and food handling establishments have also met health certification requirements, the Minister said. In addition, he said there has been greatly improved vending and handling practices in food-handling establishments, as well as a stronger commitment from the hospitality and food sectors.
Owners and operators were not only seeking to have their establishments health certified, but were also increasingly displaying their health certificates for public viewing, Mr. Junor said in his contribution to the 2002 Sectoral Debate.
The amended regulations came into effect last September with the aim of improving safety practices in tourism and food-handling establishments.
Regulations were put in place for food-handling establishments that had not yet been certified by the Ministry of Health and all were given a date by which to comply. Owners of food-handling establishments were required to apply for health certification in their parishes.
The regulation was also intended to protect public health by allowing the Ministry and regional health authorities to better regulate, inspect and monitor hotels, villas, resort cottages and swimming pools to ensure compliance with set standards.
The regulations cover areas such as health certification, the construction, renovation or refurbishing of hotel properties, food safety, the training and certification of food-handlers, medical and first-aid facilities, waste management and pest control practices.
The changes in both sets of regulations came in the face of an increasingly litigious tourist market, as well as the insistence of tour operators and international food processing distributors that the country meet minimum requirements in the handling of food to comply with international health standards. It was also aimed at reducing the incidence of food-borne illnesses, infections attributable to swimming pools, and accidents and injuries in tourist establishments.
The food-handling regulations required operators of restaurants, supermarkets, food processing plants and similar entities to complete an application form after which their premises were inspected by a public health inspector. The provisions under the public health regulations were for the daily inspections of pools, health and safety requirements, conditions of operations as well as water quality.
