FDB Seize Fake Salsa Tomato Paste

A section of the seized 'Salza' Tomato Paste

THE UPPER East Regional Office of the Food and Drugs Board (FDB) has confiscated a large number of unregistered canned Salsa tomato paste during one of its routine monitoring exercises in Bolgatanga.

The inscription on the original product had been changed on the counterfeit one from 'Salsa' to 'Salza' in the same white color and font size to deceive unsuspecting consumers.

The fake tomato paste is not registered with the FDB and the information on the can does not clearly state the country of origin or the manufacturer details and therefore falls short of the required standard.

It is suspected that many persons in Bolgatanga and other parts of the Upper East region, especially the border communities, might have bought the fake product thinking it was actually 'Salsa' tomato paste.

Upper East Regional Manager of the FDB, Eugene Addo said his officers are working hard to ensure the fake product is removed from the market and destroyed.

He assured the public that the monitoring exercise will continue across the region till all unregistered as well as unwholesome food and drug products have been confiscated.

He warned consumers to be careful saying a can of the original 210g Salsa tomato paste sells at GH¢1.50, while the uncertified product of the same weight is sold at 50p.

'We will do our part, as a regulator, by ensuring that only good food and drug items are imported and sold in every part of the country. In the case where people smuggle substandard items into the country and push them onto the market, we will confiscate and destroy them. It is our duty as consumers to be careful and inspect the things we buy. Some shops knowingly or unknowingly sell expired beverages and food products and that is why we must be careful. Some of the food products when they expire become poisonous and we must be careful and help in flushing all these items off the market.'

Mr. Addo said since the 'Salza' tomato paste did not go through FDB testing and certification, it could be unwholesome for consumption.

He said the FDB would soon start a series of radio programmes to educate the public in the various languages spoken in the Upper East region about the dangers of consuming unwholesome products and the penalties and punishment for trading and distributing unwholesome food items.

According to Mr. Addo, the FDB office in the region will need a physical permanent presence at Misiga and Paga which are borders towns to check the distribution of unregistered and expired food items that enter the region through unapproved routes.

Though he could not confirm it, he said he would not be surprised if was true that some caterers under the national school feeding programme in distant communities in the region maybe using some of the imported unregistered and unwholesome food items to prepare food for the children, considering their cheaper prices as compared to that of the certified food products.

 From Ebo Bruce-Quansah, Bolgatanga