FDB to get tough with violators of salt iodation law

Cape Coast, Sept 12, GNA- The Food and Drugs Board (FDB) will soon have salt producers who are violating the law on salt iodation prosecuted.

Mr Kwamina Van-Ess, Head of the Food Division of the FDB, gave the warning at a day's seminar 'on the enforcement of the salt iodation law, for environmental health officers, security personnel and some salt producers, in the Central Region.

He said despite education programmes on the importance of iodated salt to one's health, many salt producers are still providing consumers with raw salt.

Mr Van-Ess cited instances where a test conducted on samples of salt at Cape Coast and Mankessim markets showed that raw salt has been packaged and sold as iodated.

He said the FDB has "gone past the period of advocacy" and is bent on ensuring the rigid enforcement of the law.

He said the Board is determined to prosecute people who violate any aspect of the Food and Drugs law and that it has evidence that some people are packaging and passing off saw-dust as ginseng synthetic flavours as fruit drinks.

The Deputy Chief Executive of the Board, Mr Ben Botwe, appealed to environmental health officers and the security agencies to collaborate with the Board in enforcing the law.

He expressed regret that although the world summit on children in 1990 set 2000 for eliminating IDDs, this has not been fully achieved in salt iodation.

Mr. Jacob Armah, the IDD Control Programme Manager of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), said a pilot scheme has been started to train 18 small-scale salt producers, six each in the Ketu, Keta and Ada districts, in simple salt iodation technology.

He said the GHS, in conjunction with UNICEF, is in contact with the Food Research Institute to produce iodated salt testing kit locally.