Environmental Health Department and Ministry of Health Collaborate with PAHO to Strengthen Food Safety and Public Health Systems in the Turks and Caicos Islands

Press Release

FROM THE Ministry of Health & Human Services

Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands, 29^th January 2025 – The Environmental Health Department and the Ministry of Health & Human Services, in collaboration with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), conducted a technical mission from January 20th to 24th 2025 to strengthen food safety systems and public health in the Turks and Caicos Islands. The mission also included assessments of agricultural practices, with a focus on both ante-mortem and post-mortem inspections to ensure food safety from production to consumption.

Prior to the in-country mission, PAHO agreed to work with the Environmental Health Department on a stepwise approach to review and identify gaps and opportunities for improvement in the current Food and Drug Ordinance of the Turks and Caicos Islands. This collaboration set the foundation for the mission’s objectives, ensuring a targeted assessment of the regulatory framework and its implementation.

The mission included a series of meetings with key stakeholders involved in food safety, including the Agriculture Department, the National Public Health Laboratory, Customs Department, Grand Turk Cruise Center etc. The consultants, Dr. Andre Luis De Sousa Dos Santos and Ms. Katherine Helena Oliveira Matos, also traveled across the islands—including South Caicos, Grand Turk, and Providenciales—to assess the full scope of the food industry and identify areas for improvement. The discussions held provided valuable insight into the challenges and opportunities within the local food safety system.

Dr. Andre Luis De Sousa Dos Santos is an Advisor on Food Safety and Surveillance at the Pan American for Foot-and-Mouth Disease Center and Veterinary Public Health (PANAFTOSA/SPV) of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Dr. Katherine Helena Oliveira Matos from WHO is a food safety expert with more than 14 years of experience in the food and beverage sector and with solid experience in developing partnerships with national and international organizations (PAHO, FDA, among others). Both consultants have a wealth of experience in the area of food safety having provided the expertise to many other countries.

The visit culminated in a high-level meeting with executive members of the Ministry of Health and Human Services to review the feasibility of PAHO’s recommendations, assess capacity-building efforts for Environmental Health Officers (EHOs), establish food safety standards, and address gaps in the food quality and safety system. The discussions focused on practical strategies to enhance the country’s ability to meet international food safety and public health standards.

The Environmental Health Department and the Ministry of Health & Human Services expressed their gratitude to PAHO for their technical cooperation and expertise. They look forward to receiving the final report, which will include action plans for updating the Food and Drug Ordinance and guiding its subsequent implementation. This will be a crucial step toward modernizing food safety regulations and strengthening the overall public health framework in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

For more information about this collaboration or the ongoing work of the Environmental Health Department please contact at ehd@gov.tc or 338-2143/44 or visit the Ministry of Health’s Facebook page on https://www.facebook.com/tciministryofhealth/.