July 19, 2002
By Lucille Davie
THE City's health department is ready for the World Summit on Sustainable Development - hotels and restaurants have been checked and approved, and a contingent of around 50 environmental health officers are on standby.
The City has set up two security search parks for the Summit, where 3-4 environmental health officers will be permanently stationed. One centre is at the Sandton Testing Station in Marlboro, and another one will be based at Nasrec where the civil society conferences will largely take place.
The City has approximately 120 environmental health officers, all having registered with the Health Professions Council (which replaced the Medical and Dental Council), after having completed a four-year Technikon diploma.
Some 75 restaurants have been inspected in the Sandton area and approved in terms of their kitchens, food storage areas, dining areas, the condition of vehicles used for the transportation of foodstuffs, refuse areas, and vermin control procedures. Hundreds more across the city have been inspected as part of ongoing routine checks.
Around 46 hotels have been inspected and approved on the above criteria in addition to areas like swimming pools, spa baths, public toilets and employee ablution facilities.
An "island site" consisting of the hotels and restaurants surrounding the Sandton Convention Centre has been identified. All hotels where heads of state will be accommodated have been approved, most of them in the island site.
Bacteriological swabbing of hotels and restaurants in Johannesburg is to begin on 1 August. This involves swabbing a square centimetre area of an establishment's food preparation surfaces with a cotton swab to determine the number of viable bacteria present. Not more than 100 viable bacteria should be found in the tested area.
Standards for transportation of foodstuffs, including standard working procedures for food handlers, have been set. Food suppliers are not to access food from any premises that have not been inspected and certified in terms of national regulations and certificates of acceptability supplied. In addition, food safety at special events will be a priority.
An outbreak response team is to be established, concentrating particularly on food poisoning. The team will consist of three microbiological experts from the National Health Laboratory Services and four specialist environmental health officers from the City of Johannesburg.
There will be routine monitoring of water quality by Johannesburg Water.
The health action plan is to cost around R900 000.
Meanwhile, the City is offering hospitality industry staff a free one-day orientation course in preparation for the Summit. The course will cover customer care, an overview of the Summit and how it will influence the city, the city's vision for the future, interesting facts and figures, tourist attractions, and cultural awareness.
This offer only applies to suburbs affected by the Summit: Sandton, Soweto, Melville, Alexandra, Greater Roseban and Newtown.
The City's tourism department invites businesses in and around Johannesburg to sign up staff members for a three-day hospitality course, which includes preparation for the delegates, guidelines on safety and security and Summit logistics.
Homestay and bed and breakfast hosts are also encouraged to enrol for this course. Those interested can e-mail their details to worldsummit@hosprof.co.za, or phone 471 2281.
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