The Ministry of Health has said that hygiene is crucial in public health promotion and improving it is a major contributing factor to the reduction of the burden of diseases.During a meeting held in Kigali on Friday, bringing together different players in the promotion of hygiene, it was agreed that effective hygiene inspections ensure people’s rights to safe food, water and a healthy environment.According to Joseph Katabarwa, the head of sanitation department in the ministry, food producers and handlers threaten the safety of food through poor hygiene and health, unclean clothes and unsafe practices.In conducting these inspections, the ministry hopes to reduce hygiene related disease, improve hygiene inspections in restaurants, and to make sure all restaurants are inspected and graded.“These inspections will be conducted based on a checklist, the criteria for the assessments include food premises maintenance and neatness, food hygiene, personal hygiene, automation food transportation, among others,” Katabarwa explained.He said that restaurants that score 85 per cent and above will be graded A, those between 70-84 per cent will be rated B, 50-69 per cent will be C and 49 per cent and below will be D, adding that all restaurants that are below average (50 per cent) will be closed.
