James Paul, CEO of the Barbados Agricultural Society (BAS) at the recent Agrofest 2017 Food Vendors Workshop which was held at the Dining Club.
He continued, “We are asking for all participants’ co-operation because we want no incidents of food poisoning at Agrofest at all. I want to emphasise it makes no sense coming to the secretariat complaining about any procedures that the Ministry of Health have implemented, we find no sympathy in this area because we want all of our exhibitors to comply, because if you don’t, you are jeopardising someone’s health.”
The BAS CEO maintained that responsibility had to go with food preparation and that vendors should be very conscious of that. “I am encouraging you to recognise that when you prepare food you have that responsibility of others lives’ in your hands and we will not compromise on the standards. We will not compromise on what the Ministry of Health is saying to you. We have a habit now in trying to have a good time we sacrifice quality and standards, we cannot do that. I am asking all of you to recognise that you have that responsibility and at the secretariat we also have a responsibility to ensure you have a pleasant experience,” it was further stated.
Paul added that, “AgroFest is just a few week [away] and we are busy in preparation to ensure that the experience of Agrofest is one that is pleasant for the exhibitors and one that we make sure people come back. We want to ensure we have a secure environment at Agrofest, we also will put in place certain measures to ensure another successful event. AgroFest is a family event and we cater to all ages and therefore we cannot have a situation with reckless behaviour in the park, I want to remind the public we do not tolerate any smoking in the park.”
Agrofest 2017 is under the theme “Agriculture – 50 years and Beyond” and will be held from February 24 to 26th at Queens Park.