While cultural diversity is celebrated as one of the contributing factors which make the BVI the beauty that it is, the differences in language and cultural practices make the job of environmental health officers even more difficult.
This is according to the Chief Environmental Health Officer Lionel Michael who made the disclosure during a recent media interview.
Speaking about the challenges faced by his department in ensuring food safety in the BVI, Michael lamented a prevailing situation where food merchants, especially in the Spanish community, have difficulty seeing eye to eye with his staff on best practices.
The issue was explained by Environmental Health Officer Christal Munroe Burnett.
“Cultural differences. You would find that some cultures would prepare food in a different way and that’s normal for them. Whereas when we go into an establishment, we can see that it’s a hazard, but that’s what they know”, she said.
In addition to the issue of human error challenging food safety in the territory, Michael said that many food businesses are operating in environments that present their own host of issues.
This, he explained, is because food establishments often occupy spaces not designed for such activities, and are ill-equipped to facilitate them.
The chief environmental health officer said the department intends to address these issues through education efforts, including continued training with food merchants, and communication exercises with members of non-English native communities.