FDA Increases Public Education for Food Vendors

The head of Food Enforcement Unit at the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), Maria Lovelace Johnson, has said her outfit is carrying out public education for most food vendors to ensure the safety of food consumed by the public.

According to her, although it is yielding results, it still remains challenging considering the number of vendors that spring up almost on daily basis.

Some reports have suggested that one person died last week while several others were on admission at the Asamankese government hospital in the Eastern region, after suspected cassava poisoning.

Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show Madam Johnson said the FDA has standards to ensure the public is safe.

“We have standards and we educate them on what to do. The first group is a bit easier to do the regulation because they are packaged, they are done under more organized way, and then we have the second group, which includes fishmongers who do free packaging; it is a bit more challenging. We have people doing it in their backyard and everywhere, but we are doing our best to get them to do the right thing, but for that group of people we are doing a lot of public education,” she said.

The Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development has placed a ban on the importation of all ornamental fishes and tilapia species.

In April, the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) in collaboration with the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), will begin closing down supermarkets and shops that fail to comply with its general labeling rules.

According to the GSA, the move is to rid Ghanaian markets of products that do not conform to labeling requirements.

Source: Citinewsroom