As part of its yearly routine market monitoring activities, the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) in the Upper East Region has undertaken safe disposal of unwholesome and contaminated food products and drugs.
A dump site in Sherigu, a suburb of Bolgatanga, burned things worth GH 312,720.15 in the open air, including food supplements, household cleaners, herbal remedies, food items, prescription medications, and cosmetics.
Sebastian Mawuli Hotor, the Regional Head of the FDA, praised certain owners of drug, chemical, and supply stores who voluntarily cooperated with the organisation to remove the “health-threatening” products from the market in his remarks to reporters following the exercise in Sherigu.
He acknowledged their efforts in that direction, stating that they not only provide their approval and cooperation in the FDA’s use of its authority under the Public Health Act of 2012 (Act 851), but also contributed funds to cover the cost of the products’ destruction.
The Regional Head warned the few miscreants who continued to sell contaminated, fake, and unregistered goods to the unsuspecting public to abstain from the practise or risk legal action.
Mr. Hotor reminded the public that the FDA’s responsibility is to safeguard public health by protecting the security of the country’s food supply, cosmetics, and radiation-emitting goods.
Highlighting the need for the local business sector, particularly wholesalers and retailers, to collaborate with the FDA to ensure the health of the people was not compromised, he said “Expired products are not good for consumption. We carry this exercise from time to time because we want to rid the shops of unwholesome and expired products, and to prevent the re-entry of the products onto the market.”
“In our office here in the region, we storm markets three times a week, to look out for expired, rusted and unwholesome products; and get rid of them, confiscate them for disposal like this.
“We target market days, and what we have confiscated is 70 per cent pharmaceutical products which are expired,”
