Be Circumspect In Purchasing Canned Consumables -FDB

With just a week to Christmas, The Food and Drugs Board has cautioned consumers of canned food and drinks to be circumspect in their purchases, in order to avoid any food related diseases during the season.

A visit to some market areas by Citi Business News showed that most traders sold at very low prices, goods that were expected to expire in the first half of 2013. This phenomenon, it was revealed, was highly patronized by many unsuspecting consumers.

The Deputy Chief Executive in Charge of Food at the Food and Drugs Board, John Odame Darkwa in an interview with Citi Business News, indicated that his outfit had already commenced sensitization programs to educate the consuming public ahead of the season.

'What I will suggest to consumers is that you cannot buy it [canned food] and keep it beyond the expiry date before you use it. So if you are buying because it is cheap make sure you are buying to consume now,' he stated.

Mr. Darkwa further disclosed, 'We are almost every day educating the public through English, Ewe, Hausa, Twi and Ga radio stations, as to the choices they need to make, information they need to look for when buying pre-packaged food and how food needs to be handled when fresh'.

'We are doing this so we minimize the incident of food related illnesses during the festive season. This week, we will continue saturating the airwaves with public education to get the consumer well informed,' he added.