Ministry of Health

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Registrar of the Pesticides Control Authority (PCA), Hyacinth Chin-Sue, has said that the government is in the process of setting up a food safety agency, which will ensure that food produced in the country is safe for export and local consumption.

The move, she said, is part of measures being implemented by the government to protect citizens from the undesirable effects of the misuse of pesticides and other chemicals.

Mrs. Chin-Sue, who was addressing a pesticide sensitization meeting recently in Spring Hill, Portland, also pointed out that mechanisms are being put in place to coordinate the country's food inspection programme, and also to ensure that food entering Jamaica is safe from contamination by pesticides and other chemicals.

Other countries, she indicated, had established methods for the testing of imported food and other products, to protect their populations from the dangers of pesticides and other chemicals.

She made a special appeal to the farming community to adhere to the guidelines regarding the use of pesticides, to reduce the threat to locals and visitors, and to ensure the safety of produce for export.

The community meeting was part of an islandwide public education campaign being carried out by the PCA, to promote the safe use of pesticides and other chemicals, in an effort to reduce the health risks.

Spring Hill is the third community in Portland in which meetings have been held so far, with the others being Hope Bay and Fair Prospect.

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