FDB DESTROYS UNREGISTERED AND EXPIRED GOODS

FDB DESTROYS UNREGISTERED AND EXPIRED GOODS

The Food and Drugs Board (FDB) in the Northern Region of Ghana has seized and destroyed unregistered and expired consumable and non-consumable products worth thousands of Ghanaian Cedis.

The goods which included edible oil, medicine, soft drinks and cosmetic products among others were seized from shop owners and some retailers in Tamale, the regional capital during an operation by officials of the FDB to ensure that retailers and traders run their businesses according to the laid down rules and regulations of the board to ensure the safety of consumers.

According to officials of the FDB, retailers in the Tamale Metropolis have consistently been advised not to trade in unregistered and expired food and drugs but some have deliberately refused to heed to the advice, hence the need to get into the open market and seized some Chinese products which are mostly unregistered.

The Northern Zonal acting FDB Boss, Gordon Akurugu told savannahnews during an interview that his outfit for sometime now has been on the alert to ensure that traders and retailers in the city and across the region do the right thing by complying with all the laid down regulations to ensure consumer safety.

He later called on the media to join the crusade to help educate traders and retailers including the general public on the activities of the board.

In a related development, the FDB has also organized a one day orientation workshop on the activities and operations of the board for journalists and selected stakeholders including pharmacists and herbalists across the Northern Region.

The one day workshop among other things was to give orientation to key stakeholders concerning the operations and regulations of the board for effective collaboration in their work.

In his welcome address, the Northern Zonal acting Officer of the FDB, said the board was fully committed to its mandate to ensuring the safety of food, cosmetics and medical devices among others.

He stressed that in achieving this, the board was strengthening its existence system or mechanisms by supporting manufacturing and industrial companies to adopt good management practices.