The warning from the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) to the consuming Ghanaian public against a brand of canned fish called ‘So Nice’ mackerel currently being sold on markets in Kumasi, Takoradi and Tamale must be taken seriously.
This development, Weekend Today believes, is critical, especially as the state regulatory body—FDA—has come out to state clearly that it cannot vouch for the wholesomeness of the product which was imported into the country by Dotsisco Ventures.
What even makes the situation even more serious is the FDA’s assertion that the “So nice” brand of mackerel did not pass through approved and health checks at the Tema Port before it was cleared on October 2, 2017. So, as we speak now, the unapproved product has found its way into markets in Tamale, Takoradi and Tamale. This indeed portends some danger for people who will be patronising the product. It becomes more worrying when Weekend Today tends to believe that the product had already received some patronage taking into cognisance the fact that it did not get FDA’s approval.
In fact, this is an issue that must not be joked with at all, particularly when lives are at stake here. It is also an issue that raises questions about the monitoring activities of our state regulatory agencies.
How the product escaped the FDA’s radar is a matter that must thoroughly be investigated and all those who will be found culpable must be dealt with according to the laws of this country. The fact is that we have been having many of such cases in this country, and therefore it is about time we devised productive and stringent measures to deal with it.
It is, however, heart-warming that the Ashanti Regional Office of the FDA has succeeded in confiscating 500 cartons of the ‘So Nice’ mackerel. It is against that backdrop that Weekend Today wants to use this medium to commend the market women at Ofankor who through their vigilance alerted the police which led to the arrest of the owner of the product, Mr. Kofi Dotsi.
That notwithstanding, the paper believes that some of the “So Nice” mackerels are being sold at markets in the said areas. This is where we want to add our voice to FDA’s call to the Ghanaian public to alert the police when they find the product on the market. It is, therefore, our fervent hope that the law will deal accordingly with the owners of the product.
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