Mr. Sylvester Oteng Kyei, Northern Regional Officer of the Food and Drugs Board, (FDB) has warned that shop owners and other retail operators in the Region involved in the sale of unwholesome and unregistered goods to the public would face the law.

He said the Board would commence a special unannounced surveillance exercise to hunt traders involved in such unscrupulous practices to ensure food safety in the Region.

Mr. Oteng Kyei gave the caution in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Tamale at the sidelines of an exercise during which goods ranging from drugs, cosmetics and beverages totaling about GH¢40,000.00 that were confiscated from retail shops and wholesale outlets for a period of six months were destroyed.

“We confiscated these goods during a surveillance exercise which took us to all the districts and the Senior High Schools to inspect their dining halls, kitchen and foods storage rooms”, he said.

Mr. Oteng Kyei said the outfit was overwhelmed with the unwholesome and unregistered products, especially condoms, food items and cosmetics.

“The Board is faced with a very serious challenge of the influx and the proliferation of unregistered, expired goods in the Region”, he said.

Mr. Oteng Kyei reminded operators in the food and drugs sector that the display on shelves and sale of expired and unregistered food products contravened the Food and Drugs Law (PNDC Law 305B, 1992) and its amendment Act, Act 523 1996.

Mr. Oteng Kyei said the Board will from mid-June apply a severe regulatory penalty of not less than GH¢100.00 and a maximum of GH¢20,000.00 on offenders.

Meanwhile, some people who GNA spoke on condition of anonymity in Tamale also raised concerns about the sale of unregistered products which were being sold at relatively cheap prizes.

They said the products were normally sold to market women who came to the Metropolis to purchase them for sale in the rural areas.**