Nikhil Aiyush Kumar 
[Source: AFD]
Substandard food imports continue to be a challenge which poses significant risks to people of all age groups.
Minister for Trade Manoa Kamikamica states that they are working with the Ministry of Health on current laws and in the process impose new ones as well.
He adds that they are actively upscaling monitoring to ensure that food safety is not compromised for the sake of profits.
The minister says the task force which began in April this year has held sustained dialogue all with their stakeholders.
“Part of the reason why we decided to form a food safety task force was to try and start having active discussions around food safety and food regulation in Fiji. So that’s now underway.”
Kamikamica adds that they continue to receive complaints with regard to tinned food products.
He says that one of the needs for the task force was just the standard of quality of food and particularly some imports, particularly tinned imports.
The minister adds that they are focusing on stepping up inspections of food items.
Permanent Secretary for Trade Shaheen Ali says that they meet with their major stakeholders regularly to improve food safety.
“The task force’s role in terms of monitoring work is to empower local agencies that are vested with that responsibility. So, Consumer Council, Ministry of Health, FCCC.”
The Food Safety Taskforce has so far dealt with a wide range of issues, including unhygienic retail practices, the presence of pests in food, improper food handling, tempering expiry dates and selling of products that have already expired.
