The Lena Marshall Foundation (LMF) is promoting the production and consumption of food produced in a hygienic environment.
In order to promote the adoption of food safety practices within Liberia's fresh produce systems, a project funded by Friends of Liberia (FOL) and (LMF) recently trained more than 40 chefs, cooks and Street vendors in two counties – Margibi (Doemah Town) and Grand Cape Mount (Robertsport).
"Food safety is an issue in Liberia and many women handling food, still have low awareness,” said Mrs Marjorie Nenneh Wright, one of LMF's training officers and staff.
“Awareness among food handlers involved in fresh produce systems such as growing, handling, and consuming the fresh produce – is highly important.” she also added.
Because Food safety is a global issue and is the cause of major public health problems. LMF is educating a wide spread of communities about basic health and hygiene practices. Mainly focusing on rural women who are allegedly 'always' left out of training activities within the city.
Moreover, raising awareness among food handlers of the risks and promoting the adoption of recommended hygiene practices is - key to preventing foodborne illness for consumers.
According to Marjorie, the 'Food Hygiene Training in Rural Areas' -is solely aimed- at preventing food poisoning by educating communities about basic health and hygiene practices when cooking for public consumption.
"Package waste and community waste is one of the issues that affect the proper Hygiene state of food sellers. As well as
surrounding environment, keeping dishes and utensils tidy and clean while also cooking," she stated.
Workshop attendees included women and youth who can now share their new knowledge and skills in their communities to build a greater food safety capacity.
In each session, participants learned about the importance of food safety and were trained in:
1.Cross contamination
3.Chilling
5.Management - Dairy
Feedback from participants has been overwhelmingly positive.
"This training is a new kind,” said madam Kebbeh, who participated in the (LMF) Hygiene workshop. “Due to a lack of food safety training, we’ve faced difficulty in knowing what's right and wrong. We realized that hygiene matters, along with several other things.” she added.
Kebbeh also stated that she is now prepared to share what she’d learned about reducing the risk of contamination of food, in her area.
“We need to be very careful while preparing food,” she said.
Meanwhile, (LMF's) founder and Executive Director Mrs. Lena Marshall, who graduated from the University of Central Lancashire - Preston, with a degree in Biomedical Science said, that her career path led her into Microbial and Chemical analysis of food.
This also led Mrs. Marshall to obtaining a Food Hygiene Qualification through the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health in London.
"The aim is to prevent food poisoning by educating women on basic food safety and hygiene information, and also advice for handling food for human consumption," she said.
The Lena Marshall Foundation has been set up to help women, girls, and children in low- and middle-income countries to make their lives better.
Additionally, projects are targeted for women entrepreneurs so that they can contribute to their economies
"And have a stronger voice in their societies," Mrs. Marshall added.
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