Oyo govt bans use of styrofoam for food packaging

Oyo State Government has banned the use of styrofoam for packaging food. The state’s Commissioner for Health, Oluwaserimi Ajetunmobi, announced the ban, yesterday, during the food safety stakeholders’ forum held at the Conference Room of the Ministry of Health in Ibadan.

Ajetunmobi said the menace of food poisoning, indiscriminate use of chemical products for food production, processing, packaging, and other sharp practices being carried out by food business operators had become of great concern in the state.

Similarly, the state government has inaugurated a task force on food safety, which comprises members from the State Food Safety Management Committee, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), the Association of Table Water Producers (ATWAP), the Association of Canteen Workers and others.

Director of Food, Water and Laboratory Services in the Ministry of Health, Afusat Akande, said the basic requirements for the actors along the food chain to meet before they could be certified include routine medical fitness certificates from designated state government hospitals, among others.

On his part, the Food Safety Compliance Enforcement Taskforce, headed by Permanent Secretary, Akintunde Ayinde, promised to work with the ministry to achieve its objective of food safety in the state.