The Negros Oriental Chamber of Commerce & Industry is optimistic that a professionalized food service industry here will ramp up the economy of Dumaguete City and other parts of the province.
NOCCI President Edward Du on Monday afternoon expressed his positive outlook after the staging of a Food Safety Awareness Summit in Dumaguete City in cooperation with AFOS, a German company specializing in food safety.
According to Du, the Chamber saw the need to conduct the seminar, the first of its kind here, he says, to encourage people in the food industry, to include street vendors, to be conscious of the food that they sell and to understand the proper procedures in food preparation and handling.
All the stakeholders in the food industry, including students, were present during the summit to celebrate Food Safety Awareness Day at the Luce Auditorium of Silliman University, so that they would understand and be aware of the importance of food safety, sanitation and hygiene, Du said.
He explained that one of the objectives of the activity was to encourage MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) to comply with the new law on food safety, Republic Act 10611 or the Food Safety Act of 2013.
Du also stressed the need for the food service industry here to be competitive now because neighboring ASEAN countries “are now following strictly the global food standards so we have to really catch up”.
Also, on street food, the Chamber president highlighted the importance of encouraging the vendors to follow the law, especially because the latter may think that they are exempted from the law.
“Nobody is exempted from the law”, Du said, pointing out that whether it is a nationwide food chain, restaurant of a street vendor, they all must comply with the law. (With a report from Judy Flores Partlow/PNA)
