The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has asked Ghanaians not to be discouraged from purchasing fish from vendors and cold stores as it assures that the assorted fish which washed ashore over the weekend have not gotten into the market.

The Authority notes that following the incident over the weekend, it has engaged market women and their Associations on how to prevent these fish from getting into the market.

Deputy Chief Executive of the FDA’s Food Division, Roderick Agyei, speaking in an interview with Raymond Nyamador on the Happy Morning Show, explained: “You can go to the same cold stores that you go to, the same market women you buy fish from because we have engaged the market women and our officers are in town. As I speak to you, we are still going to town and conducting inspections in the markets. We are within the populace; we have just not identified ourselves so in the end, we have spoken to the Association. A lot of the people are law-abiding. They have family members as we all do. They wouldn’t sell something that can have repercussions for them in the future”.

Meanwhile, Roderick cautioned that people should always make a thorough inspection when purchasing their fish from the market. “Make sure that whatever you are buying is fine. The bad ones from the sea look puffed, with liquid coming out of the side and a bad smell. And these are some of the signs that our mothers look out for before buying fish from the market. In case you find the price is low, don’t just purchase, make sure it is safe for consumption”, he added.

Last week Friday, some fishes were found along the shores of the Osu Castle beach.

Two days after, over eighty mammals believed to be melon-headed whales were washed ashore at the Axim-Bewire beach in the Nzema East Municipality. This attracted many residents who picked them up either for consumption or for sale.