Don't be blinded by profits - Minister

Agona Swedru (C/R), Jan 23, GNA- Food producers, processors and drug manufacturers have been urged not to allow profit to blind their sense of responsibility.

Mr Alan Kyerematen, Minister of Trade, Industry, and President's Special Initiatives, asked them to be conscious of public concerns on food safety, the health of food sellers and the cleanliness of premises where food and food products were sold.

In a speech read on his behalf at Agona Swedru in the Central Region on Wednesday, he said drug manufacturers had to ensure the efficacy of their products as a social responsibility.

Mr Samuel Yao Bortsi, Chief Industrial Promotion Officer of Ministry who read the speech of Mr Kyerematen, was opening a two-day workshop for managing directors of some export oriented food and pharmaceutical companies to make them well versed in both domestic and external regulations.

He pointed out that almost all the major markets had introduced new regulations that could reduce Ghana's access and told the managers to be abreast with consumer preference and government regulations. "Knowledge of consumer preferences should be your personal responsibility", Mr Kyerematen said.

He mentioned a number of recent regulations on dietary supplements, infant formula, fruits and vegetables and living animals, among other items in the United States, certification in the European Union and food laws in Canada.

The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Major Courage Quashigah, who was represented by Central Regional Director of Agriculture, Mrs Mary Opoku Asiamah, said the poor quality of products, inability to meet deadlines and lack of skills to negotiate made it difficult for Ghanaian agricultural products to compete favourably on the international markets.

Professor John Sefa Ayim of the Faculty of Pharmacy, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, said the affordability of drugs would pose a challenge to the National Health Insurance Scheme. He said the Diploma Course in Pharmacy appeared to be training people for distribution of drugs rather than formulation.

Professor Ayim said there was lack of experienced people in formulation and preparation, and noted that the few that came from outside the country were not being made use of.

He called for close collaboration between the pharmaceutical companies and the universities to train more formulators.

Professor Samuel Sefa-Dedeh, Program Director of Ghana Private-Public Partnership Food Industry Programme, said there was the need to ensure food safety as an essential component of sustainable development, to reduce poverty, increase food security and protect the environment.

He said there would be more requirements in the running of the food enterprise in the 21st century and called for safety and quality issues to be tackled in a co-ordinated manner, with the application of science and technology and realistic understanding of markets.

Mr Emmanuel Agyarko, Executive Director of the Food and Drugs Board (FDB), which organised the workshop with the Export Development and Investment Fund (EDIF), recalled the efforts of India in becoming a major exporter of pharmaceutical and processed food products in the last 35 years.

Mr Agyarko said the FDB would ensure that local manufactured products met all international quality requirements to make them acceptable everywhere.

Mr Francis Mensah, Assistant Director of the EDIF, announced that the Board of the Fund had approved a grant for 1.3 billion cedis from its Export Development and Promotion Account for the FDB to provide support services for industry.