The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has advised the public to inspect the license of street food vendors before buying from them.

This, the Authority says, would help reduce the risk of purchasing contaminated food.

“Insist on seeing street food vendor’s permit before patronising the services of your favorite joint and eateries,” the Authority said.

This comes on the back of a suspected food poisoning incident which resulted in the death of one person at Oyibi Bush Canteen junction.

Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the FDA, Rhoda Appiah made these comments in an interview on the Pulse on Wednesday.

Madam Appiah explained that the Authority has noted that street vendors played an important role in the food chain, hence it has established license for vendors who pass the accepted hygienic practices.

“We have noted that street food vendors played a critical role as far as the provision of food for the population is concerned, so in 2001 we introduced an initiative called street food vending permit.

"We work closely with the district assemblies who have assigned environmental health officers to us to provide some support for us to be able to identify these street food vendors and provide support in terms of good hygienic practices and if they are able to pass the checklist and compliance requirement, they are issued a permit," she said.

The PRO urged the public to observe the appearance of the vendors before buying their food.

“As a matter of fact, if you are buying food and the seller has these extensions on their nails, wrist watches, earrings, hair not covered, you just should know that some form of hygiene is not taken care of,” she told host, Blessed Sogah.

She added that “The seller must be in aprons, and the hair must be properly covered. We expect that they should not be having any open wounds on the body. They should at least be having these disposable Gloves.”

Madam Appiah urged vendors to take health tests before venturing into preparing food for public consumption.

 “First of all take the health test with the district assembly and get their health certificate before they can embark on a business to sell food,” she added.

It would be recalled that on January 27 the Authority launched an investigation into the suspected food poisoning which was rumoured to have killed five persons including a pregnant woman in Accra.

The PRO assured that when the cause of death is known, her outfit will duly inform the public.