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The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) says it has discovered a plot under which some service providers present genuine products for registration but later adulterate those products for criminal intent. That development, it said, was a grave concern to the authority, as it bordered on public health hazard.

The Central Regional Head of the FDA, Mr Kwame Nsiah-Poku, who disclosed this at a forum organised for the media and the public in Cape Coast last Tuesday, therefore, stressed the need for the collaboration of all stakeholders in dealing with that practice. “The issue of counterfeit or fake products is a bother to us all in Ghana and the world over.

It erodes public confidence in our manufacturers,” he said. He attributed those criminal acts to the zealousness of some manufacturers to make profit, to the detriment of the health of the consumers of those products. Mr Nsiah-Poku announced that a post-market surveillance team had been formed to ensure that all products had been duly registered before they were put on the market.

The acting National Coordinating Head of the FDA, Mr P.K. Agyemang-Duah, attributed the proliferation of fake medicines in the country to the porous borders.

He said the more than 50 unapproved routes along the country’s borders, coupled with the free ports in some neighbouring countries, had worsened the situation. Mr Agyemang-Duah expressed concern over the advertisement of products such as aphrodisiacs and herbal medicines on the airwaves, saying the situation was unfortunate, as some media houses “overblow” such adverts.