Survey finds food adulteration common in cities

Accra, Aug. 26 GNA - A survey conducted in eight regions has revealed that food adulteration is common in big markets in urban communities and towns. The survey conducted jointly by the Food Research Institute (FRI) and the Food and Drugs Board (FDB) found food adulteration in the Greater Accra, Eastern, Central, Western, Volta, Ashanti, Northern and Brong Ahafo Regions.

Food adulteration is an act of adding or mixing something inferior, harmful, useless and unnecessary to food. It is intended to reduce manufacturing cost, increase bulk or weight, make it appear better and conceal inferiority. In a survey report copied to the Ghana News Agency, Dr Kafui Kpodo, Head of the Food Chemistry Division of FRI, noted that food adulteration was on the increase and was done deliberately or unknowingly by traders, mostly in urban markets with perpetrators playing on the ignorance of innocent buyers.

According to Dr Kpodo, the adulteration problem could be addressed by ensuring that the law enforcement department was vigilant. "There should be training, education and community outreach programmes on food adulteration for manufacturers and consumers." While recommending the formation of consumers' associations to take on unscrupulous traders and manufacturers, Dr Kpodo advised consumers to buy whole grains and spices and grind them at home for meals. He said food safety was a complex and many-faceted issue which included all the hazards which made food injurious to the consumer. The report identified improper agricultural practices, poor hygiene at all levels of the food preparation chain, lack of preventive controls in food processing, misuse of chemicals, as well as inadequate storage facilities, as factors contributing to potential hazards.

In Ghana, many households spend up to 70 per cent of the family's income on food and it is therefore necessary that imported and locally produced foods are wholesome, Dr Kpodo noted, reiterating that food safety was not a luxury but a necessity for all. 26 Aug. 08