FDB SUSPENDS OPERATIONS OF KINGDOM HERBAL CENTRE … after routine inspection
THE FOOD AND Drugs Board (FDB) has directed the suspension of the activities of Kingdom Herbal Centre after investigations into its operations. A final report issued by the FDB and sighted by this reporter, recommended that “based on the findings, and in the interest of public health and safety, the team strongly recommends that Kingdom Herbal Centre be made to suspend all manufacturing activities and implement the recommendations under the supervision of the Board.”
The investigative team, which comprised of Mrs. Jennifer Bonnah, Mr. Abdul Samad Issah, Mr. Onasis Mensah and Isaac Darko Addo raised a lot of sanitation and unhygienic issues among many others, detected during their inspections of the facility. The team, in their investigations, revealed that the herbal manufacturing company exposes its products to contamination, and also lacked the requisite skills in their work.
“Taking into consideration the unsanitary conditions under which staff of the company work, and the manner in which the products are exposed to contamination after persistent recommendations to the company, it is being recommended that the company be made to suspend its manufacturing activities,” the statement said.
Kingdom Herbal Centre are manufacturers of Kingdom Garlic Bitters and Kingdom Garlic capsules. The Investigators also recommended over 20 key issues to be implemented by the company, before embarking upon further operations. Among these recommendations are that the whole facility should be thoroughly cleaned and repainted with oil paint, and that rooms in the facility should be decongested and demarcated for specific activities, and be accordingly and properly labelled.
On health requirements for personnel engaged in production, the investigators observed that “No medical examination has been conducted on the workers at the time of the inspection.”
According to the report, the company has no document on quality management system in place, in addition to the fact that no external expertise was employed in the manufacturing activities that were carried out on the site apart from the manufacture of herbal medicines.
“No external expertise is employed in the manufacture or quality assessment of products,” stressing that the employees hinted that Obiri Herbal Centre has been contracted to manufacture Kingdom Kooko Bitters for the company, without recourse to the procedures of the FDB.
The Inspectors contended further that raw materials for preparing the drugs were being stored in a room with no labels, saying the lime juice and honey were being stored in plastic barrels, which were very dirty at the time of inspection, to the extent that ants had invaded the floor where the honey had been placed.
Touching on the staff's hygiene requirements; including clothing, the FBD stated that “Workers were not in protective clothing at the time of inspection. The workers apparel were found to be very dirty.”
On the premises of Kingdom Herbal Clinic, the inspectors were of the view that the walls in the manufacturing area were dirty and peeling off at the time of inspection. The FDB stressed further that there were no ventilation or air conditioning system available. “Some of the louver blades were broken at the time of inspection. A gutter within the premises was also dirty. Fungi had grown in the gutter and water had become stagnant. Bottles for production are also washed at an area near the gutter,” the investigators observed in the report.
Mr. Kwame Afriyie, the manager of the company, when contacted on phone yesterday, admitted that the investigators came to the company but was not privy to the decision made by the FDB.
According to him, since he has not got the full report, he cannot speak on the matter. He promised to get to this reporter yesterday, but at press time last night there was no word from him.