FDB impounds cartons of Mama Queen Mackerel

By Bernard Yaw Ashiadey

The Food and Drugs Board (FDB) has impounded 210 cartons of Mama Queen Mackerel in Tomato Sauce belonging to Jichi Ghana Limited.

The product has not been evaluated nor registered by the FDB and are therefore unsafe for public consumption.

In an interview with the Business and Financial Times, Mr. Odame Darkwah, Acting Deputy Chief Executive, Food Division of the FDB, said the product has no source, no expiry date, and nothing to trace it to and therefore dangerous to the health of the society.

“The label on the product does not indicate the name and address of the manufacturer, importer or distributor as well as the country of origin, making it impossible to trace the source of the products,” he said.

Mr. Darkwah said individuals who have already purchased the product should return them to wherever they bought it and take back their money.

The FDB was notified about the products by an individual who purchased one and realised it had no expiry date and place of manufacture, and the content tasted very badly.

The Board said it followed up to where they were been sold in Okaishie, and arrested the shop owner who claimed that he had bought them from a distributor who imported the consignment from China through Togo. The Board also discovered that over 200 cartons of the product had already been sold to the unsuspecting public.

The Food and Drugs Law 1992 (PNDCL 305), which establishes the FDB, mandates it to control the manufacture, importation, exportation, distribution, use, and advertisement of food, medicines,

cosmetics, medical devices, and household chemical substances with respect to ensuring their safety, quality and efficacy.

The sale of unregistered Mama Queen Mackerel in Tomato Sauce therefore contravenes provisions of Section 25 of the Food and Drugs Law, 1992 (PNDC Law 305B)