FDB organizes lecture on food and medicine safety

Accra, Sept. 20, GNA - Professor Kodjo Sena, Head of Sociology Department of the University of Ghana, on Thursday observed that most pharmacists in the country plied their trade in areas where they were not needed much.

"This situation has allowed all manner of people, either qualified or not qualified professionals, administering ... sometimes wrong drugs, under wrong instructions forgetting the health implications," he said. Speaking at a lecture organized by the Food and Drugs Board as part of their 10th anniversary celebration, under the topic: "Medicine Safety; Regulation and the Role of the Consumer", Prof. Sena said every medicine had a poison substance and its wrongful application could result in unbearable consequences. He expressed regret about some persuasive advertisements on drugs, which had taken over the airwaves, projecting medicines as magic bullets.

Prof. Sena said since medicines had become part of human life, there was the need for qualitative improvement in the regulatory mechanisms having the end-user in mind. He said certain drugs were made for certain climatic conditions and specific instructions on their usage should be observed.

Prof. Sena advised Ghanaians to discard the notion that whatever came from a foreign land was the best and urged health professionals to always educate clients on the appropriate use of drugs. He said healthy living should also be the watchword of every individual to avoid dependency on drugs. Prof. Sefa Dedeh, a food scientist, who spoke on "The Food Supply Chain-Safeguarding Public Health and Safety", called for strategic planning in food processing to avoid food poisoning. "Strategic planning must also have the safety of the consumer in mind."

He said the informal sector played a key role in the food delivery process and called for appropriate regulations and enforcement of food safety laws to ensure that consumers got the best service. He said in a developing country like Ghana, there must be independent bodies like FDB and Ghana Standard Board, which were well empowered to check the safety of food to consumers.