MANILA, Philippines — To provide public schoolchildren with nutritious and germ-free food, Quezon City authorities have started holding food handler classes for vendors near the city’s public schools.

Tadeo Palma, secretary to the mayor, said sanitation inspectors from the city health department have conducted at least three consecutive sessions of proper food handling at the designated barangay halls and health centers to ensure the safety not only of the students but also the general public.

He said ambulant vendors are now required to secure health certificates and sanitation permits from the city health department as a sign that the food they are selling are safe to eat before they are allowed to operate.

Dra. Antonieta Inumerable, chief of the city health department, said the program’s priority will be food peddlers operating within the vicinity of schools in the second district where majority of the city’s poor constituents are found.

“What we are doing right now is urge ambulant vendors to strictly comply with the city’s sanitation requirements,” Inumerable said.

Inumerable wants, if possible, that only packed food items should be sold to Quezon City schoolchildren to avoid food contamination.

Aside from organizing food handlin-- classes, personnel from the sanitation division have also stepped up the inspection of school canteen facilities to determine their compliance with sanitation requirements.