FDB to Raid Central Region

Mr James Lamptey

THE NEW Central Regional Director of the Food and Drugs Board (FDB), Joseph Yaw B. Bennie has stated that his outfit will soon embark on a massive inspection operation in the region to check expired products on the market.

According to him, because FDB was not on fully operational in various regions in the country, some producers and manufacturers sneaked into the central region where they sold fake and expired products to unsuspecting customers.

Mr. Bennie noted that the introduction of a Post Market Surveillance (PMS) machine has made it much easier for the FDB to identify expired products sold on the Ghanaian market. He therefore called on government to support the board acquire more of such machines to carry out routine checks.

Mr. Bennie made this known at a press conference organized by his outfit on Tuesday to enlighten journalists in the region about the operations and objectives of the FDB.

Giving a presentation on the topic “Mandate and activities of FDB,” he said the board established under PNDC Law 3058, Act 523 has the mandate to regulate the importation and exportation of food, drugs and cosmetics, general provisions, household chemicals and its administration in the country.

He added that the FDB also has the role to implement the Food and Drugs Law, regulate the manufacturing, exportation and advertisement of food and drugs, and ensure safety, quality and efficacy of products produced on the market as well as ensure the wholesomeness of a product via the required FDB specifications.

Mr. Bennie stated that due to the FDB’s strict adherence to principles, people have sought to manufacture unwholesome products onto the market without any approval from his outfit, adding that some manufacturers paste FDB registration tags on their products to make it seem that they are duly registered.

He warned herbal drug producers and manufacturers who use deception in the sale of their products to desist from such behavior adding that the FDB will prosecute anyone who falls foul of the law.

On his part, Head of Communications at the FDB, James Lartey who gave a presentation on “FDB/ Media collaboration and recent FDB activities” appealed to government and politicians not to add politics to the activities and operations of the board.

He noted that court bails given to suspects who are arrested was not helping the FDB and the police conduct thorough investigations into issues.

He cited a situation where a suspect was arrested in Accra and   given bail to support the police investigate the case, but unfortunately the suspect took to his heels and up to now has not been found.

Mr. Lartey called on the public to support the operations of FDB to make the central region and the country an expired-products free community to create sound and healthy homes for Ghanaians.