Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Audley Shaw, says Jamaica has an active food safety programme that is geared towards preventing the spread of plant and animal diseases.

Delivering the keynote address at an Open Day, staged by the Ministry’s Food Storage and Prevention of Infestation Division (FSPID), at Hope Gardens, in St Andrew, on October 31, Shaw said the Food Storage & Prevention of Infestation Division (FSPID) has played a vital role in food safety.

The Minister said that as a regulatory department with responsibility for ensuring the safety and wholesomeness of food entering commerce over the past 61 years, the division “has played an integral role in maintaining and improving the safety of Jamaica’s food supply”.

Shaw said that in a world that is interconnected, the transmission of diseases and pests has become a matter of significance, “requiring extreme vigilance and care, in both the production and consumption of food”.

He further noted that globally, the spread of plant and animal diseases is continuing to pose serious threats to the health of consumers and the trading relationships between States, as well as the economies of countries.

As a result, he said Jamaica has introduced a robust food safety programme, which is informed by a food safety policy and a national plant health policy.

The event was held under the theme: ‘The importance of inspections to food security’, to celebrate the FSPID becoming the first ISO/IEC 1720 accredited inspection body in Jamaica.

It also served to showcase the work of the division, and to educate the public about food inspection regulatory bodies in Jamaica.

“This division is an important part of the ministry and it is very appropriate that you are seeking to increase awareness on your role and function,” the agriculture minister said.