Lagos warns hotels, restaurants, bakeries against food safety violations

By Osho Olatomiwa

The Lagos State Government has urged restaurants, hotels, bakeries, market operators and other food businesses to comply with hygiene regulations and adopt recognised food safety standards to prevent illness and protect consumers.

The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Dayo Lajide, represented by the Director of Environmental and Occupational Health Services, Dr. Yeside Shogbamimu, issued the warning at a food safety sensitisation workshop at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Alausa, Ikeja.

Lajide said the volume of food prepared and consumed daily across Lagos made food safety a critical public health responsibility, warning that contaminated food could cause disease outbreaks and, in severe cases, death.

He urged operators to adopt the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) framework and treat food safety as a responsibility to consumers, not merely a regulatory requirement.

The workshop outlined the Ministry’s responsibilities, including licensing food establishments, conducting hygiene inspections, testing food and water samples, issuing HACCP certifications and investigating food poisoning outbreaks.

Food safety consultant Chizoma Unegbu identified biological, chemical, physical and allergenic contaminants as major hazards and urged operators to improve staff hygiene, sanitation, pest control, temperature monitoring and record-keeping.

The Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency, represented by its Director of Scientific Investigation, Research and Development, Lucas Raheem, described safe food as a fundamental consumer right and called for stronger preventive measures.

Meanwhile, the Ministry reaffirmed its commitment to improving food safety through public education, regulatory monitoring and enforcement.