FDB Warns Consumers On Poultry Products

The Food and Drugs Board on Wednesday warned the public not to patronise a consignment of frozen packaged chicken product, "Chapeco Frozen Chicken Filler (Frango Congelado) being distributed by Guarantee Invest Company Limited because the expiry date on it is fake.

A statement issued by the Board said the chicken produced by Chapeco Companhia Industrial De Alimentos of Brazil with an original expiry date of March 23, 2003 has been extended to August 23, 2003.

The Board said its investigations revealed that the products had already been distributed to some retail outlets and restaurants in Accra and Tema.

"The FDB is making every effort to retrieve the poultry products from where they were distributed," the statement said.

Meanwhile, the FDB is also alerting the public to desist from buying frozen poultry products, particularly turkey from Portugal because such products were contaminated with the chemical Nitrofurans.

The Nitrofurans group was formerly administered by mouth as an antibacterial agent but has been withdrawn owing to its toxic effects.

The FDB said the information on the contamination was contained in a European Union Bulletin.

The Board said information it had received indicated that such poultry products had found their way to Lome and allegedly being sold in some shops at Ho, the Volta Regional Capital.

The FDB, therefore, appealed to the public to report the presence of such poultry products from Portugal on the market shelves to its Head Office or the Kumasi Regional Office.

Meanwhile, the FDB has dispatched a team to Ho to ascertain the availability of the said product in the town.