Mrs Delese Mimi Darko, Chief Executive, Food and Drugs Authority
The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has cautioned the public to be wary of what they buy during the Christmas festivities.
According to the FDA, some unscrupulous people take advantage of the season to sell expired and substandard products which was dangerous to their health.
Head of Communications, Mr James Lartey, gave the warning in an interview with the Ghanaian Times yesterday stating that expired and unwholesome products are poisonous and could be fatal when consumed.
He said to ensure the safety of the public, the FDA in collaboration with other agencies including the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority and Ghana Standard Authority (GSA) have improved their monitoring activities at both entry and exit points of the country’s borders.
He said the FDA had also intensified its post market surveillance, adding that it has deployed officials of the Authority to open markets, shops, and malls among others to ensure they were complying with safety regulations.
‘’We have also intensified our public education to the public, schools and media to identify unwholesome products at the markets,’ he added.
Mr Lartey said the post surveillance team three weeks ago ceased some products from malls and closed them down in Accra for selling products without English labels.
He urged the public to look out for expiry dates, manufacturing dates, bloated cans, rusted cans, altered labels and check whether labels were written in English and approved by the FDA or the GSA when buying a product.
He called on them to report to the FDA suspicious activities of people which affect food security in the country.
Describing it as criminal for anyone to sell unwholesome product which poses a threat to one’s health, he said offenders would be arrested and prosecuted to serve as deterrent to others.
Mr Lartey assured the public of the FDA’s continuous efforts to collaborate with other agencies to promote the public health in the country.
By Anita Nyarko-Yirenkyi
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