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BY MAE SINGUAY
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BACOLOD City – More than a thousand vendors have taken a basic food handling course under the City Health Office (CHO).
The CHO conducted the course after the food and waterborne-disease outbreak that downed more than a hundred pupils at Handumanan Elementary School 1.
A total of 1,356 vendors from seven districts under the Department of Education (DepEd) Division of Bacolod City were trained from Oct. 24 to 27.
A total of 121 vendors were from District I, 168 from District II, 149 from District III, 273 from District IV, 183 from District V, 145 from District VI, and 317 from District VII.
Upon the order of Mayor Evelio Leonardia, the DepEd and the CHO agreed to have canteen managers strictly monitor and regulate all food vendors inside and outside the school, Dr. Grace Tan said.
“Nobody can sell if they did not take the course and do not have a health certificate,” said the chief of the CHO Environmental Sanitation Division.
Vendors must also secure clearance from canteen managers for the food they want to sell.
Tan admitted that it is difficult to regulate ambulant vendors. “The DepEd is figuring out a way,” she assured.
Until now the CHO is still trying to determine what caused the disease outbreak.
Last month the Sangguniang Panlungsod sought a food safety training among school canteen personnel and ambulant vendors.
It is important to provide them knowledge on safe and hygienic food handling to prevent diseases, the city council said.
It cited City Ordinance No. 03-15-756 series of 2015, which mandates the city government — in cooperation with the private sector and government agencies — to conduct mandatory training on safe food handling and similar courses for food handlers here./PN
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