FDA confirms food contamination at Marwako

The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has confirmed that the suspected food poisoning at the Marwako Food Restaurant East Lagon was due to food contamination.

It said analyses of samples of food, some juice drinks, and swaps taken from the environment at the East Legon branch of the Food Limited indicated that there was heavy microbial load (pathogens) which may be linked to the food borne disease reported.

A statement from FDA said samples collected from the Abelenkpe and La branches were also found to be heavily contaminated.

It said the levels of sanitation and hygiene in the food preparation areas in all three facilities as well as the storage practices were poor and contributed to the food poisoning.

Investigations indicated that the temperatures of deep freezers and refrigerators were far above the acceptable ranges, the handling practices of ingredients used in cooking, cooked and ready-to-eat food items were also very poor.

It noted that processes to establish the root cause of the contamination was unfortunately tampered by the unapproved and unilateral decision of the management of Marwako to destroy some of the food items whilst the investigation was in progress.

The FDA has applied the appropriate regulatory sanctions and is also monitoring the implermentation of the Corrective and Preventive Actions (CAPA) by the management of Marwako Fast Foods to address all the non-conformances identified to prevent any reoccurrence it said.

The statement said catering services at the facilities remained suspended as investigations were still ongoing.

The FDA assured the public that it would continue to closely monitor all activities at the Fast Foods Limited to ensure compliance to the directives and as well update the public on any subsequent development.

Background

All branches of Marwako were closed down some weeks ago after some customers complained of falling ill after eating at their branch in East Legon, Accra.

The complaints were sparked by one Edward Elohim, who posted about his illness after eating at Mawarko.