KINGSTON, Jamaica — Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton has revealed that 5,661 kilogrammes of food have been condemned by public health authorities following the passage of Hurricane Melissa on October 28.

Tufton, who was speaking Tuesday in the House of Representatives, did not give a breakdown of the types of food which was destroyed, or the specific locations.

However, several parishes in southwestern Jamaica are still without or have very little electricity since Melissa devastated the grid of light and power company, Jamaica Public Service. This makes the refrigeration of food difficult.

Tufton said the food was destroyed after 5,052 food handling establishments were assessed.

“Large farms and food processing farms were visited and continued to be monitored to ensure that unsafe food is precluded from the country’s food supply chain and to prevent the outbreak of food-borne diseases,” he said.

He assured that “safety interventions will be strengthened in the coming weeks as greater access is gained into the communities that were marooned and unreachable”.

Tufton told the House that the health ministry has so far received no unusual reports of outbreaks of diseases in the wake of Hurricane Melissa. He said surveillance teams within the public health system have been actively monitoring health trends, with special attention to water-borne and vector-borne illnesses that often emerge after such weather events.

“The ministry continues to urge citizens to practice proper hygiene, use safe water sources and to promptly report any symptoms of illness to the nearest health facility,” he said.

—Lynford Simpson