Food and Drugs Board destroys unwholesome products in Tamale

December 24, 2010 Tamale, Dec. 24, GNA - The Northern Regional Office of the Food and Drugs Board (FDB) has destroyed about 6,000 Ghana cedis worth of drugs, food and other unwholesome items seized from various outlets in the region.

Some of the unwholesome goods include soft and alcoholic drinks, cooking oil, drugs, biscuits, body and hair creams, tomato paste, margarines, tooth pastes and milk.

Mr. Sylvester Oteng Agyie, the Northern Regional Manager of FDB, told the Ghana News Agency on Wednesday in Tamale that the items were seized during the FDB's post-market surveillance operations four months ago in all the districts.

He said most of the items expired or were unregistered while the efficacy of the drugs could not be determined," he said.

Mr. Agyie said consumption of expired and unwholesome food and drugs was hazardous to the health of consumers, saying "Food and drugs are meant to give us good health and not to give us disease".

The influx of fake drugs and expired food items sold at cheaper prices to the people, he noted, was of worry to the FDB, stating that measures were underway to nib in the bud such negative practices.

Mr. Agyie cautioned the public against fake and sub-standard consumer products on the market especially during this Christmas festivities.

"The habit of sending suspected products back to the seller in exchange for good ones won't help us to deal with the problem of the prevalence of these products on the market" he said.

GNA