Expired Fan Milk products in Upper East - FDB

Bolgatanga, Aug, 14, GNA - The Food and Drugs Board (FDB), in the Upper East Region, has uncovered large quantities of expired Fan milk products released by Fan Milk Ghana Limited, onto the market in the Upper East Region.

Subsequently, the FDB has warned of a possible legal action against Fan Milk Ghana Limited for deliberately flooding the market with expired products, especially in the Upper East Region.

The Upper East Regional Zonal Officer of the FDB, Mr Eugene Addo disclosed this to the GNA in Bolgatanga, after the Directorate had gone on a field inspection in Bolgatanga, Sandema, Navrongo and Paga.

He said the Board seized large quantities of expired Fan Milk products, produced by Fan Milk Ghana Limited and supplied just three days ago before the swoop.

Mr Addo condemned the action of the company and said it must not be left to go unpunished because it was a public health issue and human lives were involved.

According to Mr Addo, his outfit issued seizure notices to the Shop owners involved, which was meant to show in evidence to Fan Milk Ghana Limited for them to replace the expired goods, before any action is taken.

He said surprisingly, after speaking to the management of the company, they refused to do the replacement and rather responded that they had no business to transact with the FDB.

He said the FDB meanwhile, is looking for a suspected Kumasi based supplier of fake Salsa tomato paste products and at the same time planning a legal action against him.

The Fake Salsa Tomato Paste has the last ‘S’ letter turned upside down to mimic the original Salsa product, which has been registered with the FDB.

According to the FDB, it cannot guarantee the wholesomeness of this product and warned the tomato consuming public to watch out for the original Salsa writings when they purchase the product.

The legal suit threat comes in the wake of the FDB’s refusal to register the product, but the supplier went ahead and supplied large quantities to the consuming public. .

He said the unregistered tomato product has no country of origin and manufacturers had been seized by the FDB.

Other unregistered and expired products seized by the FDB include assorted drinks, with most coming from neighbouring countries like Burkina Faso, Togo and Ivory Coast.

Mr Addo wondered why such expired products, which were very dangerous for human consumption, were sent to the Upper East Region and stressed that, the people in Upper East Region could not be taken for granted.

He said for instance, Madam Zariatu Ayanse, who was found to be distributing the unregistered Salsa tomato to shop owners at the Bolgatanga Market, said she bought them from Kumasi.

Mr Addo said the FDB would sustain the surveillance, to rid off unregistered and expired products from the system.

He said the FDB would embark on an educational campaign on radio, in the various dialects in the region, and that plans were advanced by the FDB to open offices at the Misiga and Paga borders in the Region, to check the influx of unregistered and expired goods.

The Zonal Officer said the unregistered tomato paste product, which the FDB uncovered was very cheap on the market and expressed fear that food vendors, chop bars and restaurant operators, as well as the contractors and suppliers of the School Feeding Programme could be tempted to go in for it to prepare meals for the unsuspecting members of the public to maximise profit.

The FDB also used the occasion to educate the shop owners and market women to check the expiry dates on the products and verify whether such products were registered with the FDB.

Mr Addo reminded the consuming public to inspect the goods they buy for expired dates before buying.