THE Sunyani Zonal Office of the Food and Drugs Board (FDB) has destroyed unwholesome, unregistered and expired food, drugs, household chemicals, medical devices and cosmetics estimated at GH¢22,999.41.
They include cartons of frozen fish and sausage, biscuits, sweets, chocolates, non-alcoholic beverages, fruit drinks, energy drinks, cooking oil, Faxe extra strong beer, red kidney beans, Ovaltine beverage, chewing gum, sachet water, bottled mineral water and sachet water packaging material.
Briefing the Daily Graphic before the exercise, the Regional Zonal Officer of the FDB, Mrs Nora Narkie Terlabie, said the expired drugs were sent to the FDB Zonal Office by two pharmacy shops in Sunyani and Techiman for destruction.
According to her, it was only the FDB that had been mandated by law to issue destruction certificates and also to undertake and supervise the destruction of expired, unwholesome and unregistered foods, drugs and other items in the country.
Mrs Terlabie said the sachet water producing company in Techiman, where the sachet water packaging material bearing forged registration number of the FDB was seized during an unannounced inspection, was penalised and had the rolls confiscated.
She added that some of the food items seized by her office during the routine inspection, especially the canned foods, were not only expired, but also dented, rusted and bloated and therefore unsafe for human consumption.
Mrs Terlabie, therefore, urged the public not to patronise any canned food that had been dented, rusted and bloated, as well as any bottled items such as mineral water, non-alcoholic beverages and fruit drinks that had their lids or covers opened already and leaking since they were unwholesome.
She called for pubic support to help the FDB to ensure public safety and also protect the consumer since public safety was a shared responsibility.
Mrs Terlarbie stated that the Zonal Office would intensify its public education to heighten the awareness of people to protect themselves and also know the harmful effects associated with consuming unwholesome and expired products.
She advised the public to always look out for the manufacturing and expiry dates on items before buying them.
She warned them against patronising products that were not properly labelled and did also not have the language in English, saying any product which did not have the writings in English was not registered, so its safety could not be guaranteed.
Mrs Terlarbie urged media practitioners, especially radio presenters, to desist from promoting drugs and other items on air since it was against the FDB’s rules and regulations, cautioning that drug peddling was also an offence.
The Senior Regulatory Officer of the Zonal Office, Mr Matthew Gyang Inkoom, who supervised the destruction at the Sunyani Municipal Assembly’s landfill site, reiterated the call on the public not to hesitate to contact the FDB when they had doubts about any product.
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