Minister of Tourism, Art and Culture, Barbara Oteng-Gyasi, says it’s difficult to find food outlets that render services to customers with special dietary needs.
She, therefore, urged food operators in the hospitality industry to pay more attention to customers with special dietary needs.
Mrs Oteng-Gyasi made the remarks during the opening of a new eatery, Village Canteen, at the Akuafo Dining Hall of the University of Ghana on Friday.
It’s operated by Zayall Enterprise under a public-private partnership agreement to provide quality and affordable meals to clients in the academic institution and the general public at large.
Mrs Oteng Gyasi also said government was committed to supporting genuine private initiatives.
She therefore urged the business community to take advantage of the enabling environment to invest in the country.
The Hall Master of Akufo Hall, George Akanlig-Pare, suggested to Zayall Enterprise to roll out a meal plan under which students and other customers could sign up to provide advance capital to run the venture.
“At the moment, students do their cooking in their rooms where they sleep. And they don’t cook well so they don’t eat good food,” he said.
He hinted at plans by the school authorities to enforce a ban on cooking in hostel rooms so as to deal with rodent infestation and high power consumption due to the use of electric gadget.
Chief Executive Officer of Zayall Entreprise, Marcus Selassie, emphasised the need for training of personnel in food chain.
He noted that the lack of appreciation for food safety standards which are attributable to low educational level must be addressed by hospitality stakeholders in order to promote the wellbeing of consumers.
He further explained that the company intends to permeate every fibre of the Ghanaian society through job creation, corporate social responsibility programmes and provision of affordable and quality food.
In line with its vision of becoming the largest food chain in Africa, Mr. Selassie revealed that the company is currently running a pilot programme on a farm where almost all the food ingredients would be sourced.