FDA launches campaign on food safety ahead of Christmas festivities

The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has launched its Food Safety Campaign towards the 2022 Christmas celebration and encouraged market women to idolise cleanliness.

The campaign, which was launched at the Kaneshie Market in Accra, is to highlight some of the things market women and consumers can actively do to ensure food safety and keep themselves and their families from contracting food poisoning.

Madam Faustina Atupra, Head of the Food Safety Consumer Education Department at FDA, speaking at the launch of the Campaign, said as an Authority, “We will always make your well-being our priority.”

The campaign formed part of the National Food Safety Policy developed by the Authority and its partners to build a resilient system that assures safe and suitable food for all consumers.

It is also to strengthen food safety governance in Ghana, strengthen institutional coordination and collaboration and promote and ensure harmonization, synergy and enforcement of laws and regulations on food safety in Ghana.

The Policy covers the laws, institutions, organisations and systems dealing with food-related issues and how they interact to ensure national food safety and recognised the development objectives of Ghana as well as international guidelines and conventions which Ghana has ratified.

She said as Christmas approached, there would be a lot of celebrations and there was no celebration without food. In Ghanaian culture, food is a very big part of the Christmas and New Year celebrations.

She said with that, there was always an increase in the trading of foodstuffs and other food products on the market.

Madam Atupra said everyone had a role to play in ensuring that foods were safe during Christmas.

She urged them to check pre-packaged products “for expiry/ Best Before dates Defaced labels, English Labelling, made in Ghana foods should have FDA registration numbers, cans should not be rusty, bloated or dented packages should be sealed and intact and there should be no pest infestation in grains and packaged products.”

She called on the public to watch out and be vigilant when they hear “Donkomi, Donkomi,” adding that “remember to pay more attention to all the things mentioned earlier.”

Madam Atupra asked consumers to watch and buy food from restaurants, Chop Bars, and fast food joints which have Food Hygiene Permits.

She said all street Food vendors must have Street Food Vending Permits and “this tells the consumers that they have fulfilled all food safety and hygiene requirements and the FDA has certified them to prepare and sell food to the public.”

The market women were educated on food handling practices and personal hygiene in the market, and they were advised to avoid food adulteration.

Madam Jocelyne Egyakwa-Amusah, Head of the Food Safety Coordination and Consumer Education Department of the FDA, called on the women to report anyone who adulterated commodities in the market to the Authority.