War between FDA, CAO FS manufacturers unnecessary – Kwesi Pratt

Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr has urged the Food and Drugs Authority to stop the war between the authority and the manufacturers of the COA FS to avoid unnecessary panic among Ghanaians.

According to him, both parties can come together to solve the issues regarding COA FS rather than take different sides; one for, and the other against the impression that the product is unwholesome even though FDA was referring to particular batches.

He added that FDA should communicate well of people to avoid unnecessary panic and anxiety especially for people who might already have taken the food supplement,

Speaking on Good Morning Ghana, Kwesi Pratt said “…FDA ought to do its work properly in order to ensure that there is unnecessary panic and so on. What do you think will happen to people who already took the drug if they get the impression that the drug is unwholesome and that it can lead to kidney failure, the anxiety and so on was totally unnecessary. Let us assume the FDA was right and that they found two batches to be contaminated, all you do is to withdraw these two batches and even if you have to issue a statement, you issue a statement that assures the public that the drug has been tested and it is the surveillance that has led to the discovery of these particular batches and based on intervention the batches have been withdrawn and that the drug on the market will still be safe. That way you cover the loophole. You don’t attack somebody’s business.”

“What I think needs to be done now is to stop this war, it’s totally unnecessary FDA is doing a very important job and we need to support the FDA. COA FS is also contributing to the health in our country. The two sides should be sitting together issuing a joint statement which assures the consuming public and which also assures that the right thing is done.”

Meanwhile, The Chief Executive Officer of COA Herbal Center, Prof. Samuel Ato Duncan has accused the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) and some other organizations of making efforts to tarnish the reputation of COA FS and eventually collapse the business.

This comes after the FDA announced the product recall from the market as it contains excessive microbial, mould and yeast contamination.

Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), ordered members of the public who bought the COA FS products with batch numbers, CFS00003 manufactured on October 20, 2019 with expiry date of October 19, 2021 and CFS 00004 manufactured on November 18, 2019 with expiry date of November 17, 2012 to return the products to the retail shops from which they purchased them.

The samples were also found to contain Escherichia coli (E.Coli) which causes diarrhea, gastroenteritis, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting.