Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) is cautioning the public to be careful of the kind of food items they buy from the market as Christmas approaches.
In an interview, a Senior Regulatory Officer at the Western Region office of the FDA, Mr. Albert Ankomah, stated that most retailers and importers tend to sell unwholesome products to unsuspecting consumers during this season which “obviously was not good for their health.”
“As Christmas is fast approaching there is the tendency of unwholesome foodstuff getting onto the market. The FDA will do it part in getting rid of some of these unwholesome items but the consumer equally has the responsibility to ensure that what they purchase for their Christmas celebration are safe for consumption.”
He advised consumers that “when buying a product you should first check for the expiry date on the product, and check if the caned product is not rusty before you buy the product.”
Mr. Ankomah gave the warning at a durbar at the Takoradi Market Circle on the theme: “Enhancing Food Security Through Food Safety Practices.”
The durbar was to inform and sensitise the general public on how to adhere to food safety practices at the market place and their various places of residence.
He mentioned that the FDA was poised to sanitising the market by getting rid of all unwholesome food items as Christmas approaches.
“The FDA will intensify post market surveillance to flush out expired products on the market. Very soon we will deploy our men onto the market to visit stores to check for expired products and see to it that food vendors observe food safety measures.”
Mr. Ankomah also admonished “store owners to conduct a periodic inspection on the products they have in store… any store owner found with expired foodstuff will be made to face the full rigours of the law.”
He asserted that the FDA was partnering with the police and the customs service to prevent the infiltration of unwholesome foodstuff from entering onto the Ghanaian market.
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