The last week of October is considered Food Safety Awareness Week, which is observed in an effort to end food poisoning and other foodborne illnesses.

The observance was created through a proclamation signed by then-President Joseph Estrada in 1999, where he called on the Department of Health to “create public awareness and to educate people on food safety.”

During this year’s Dinagyang Festival in Iloilo City, City Health Officer, Dr. Bernardo Caspe, deployed inspectors to check the sanitation permits and health cards of various vendors.

He pointed out, inspectors will also check food preparation in order to avoid cases of food poisoning and kiosks that fail to meet the standard will be removed./WDJ