The Central Regional Office of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has disposed of various quantities of unwholesome regulated products worth ¢250,000 in Cape Coast.

The FDA confiscated the products on its routine post-market surveillance activities, retrieved from 18 districts and institutions that applied for the safe disposal of their harmful products.

The seized items include food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, herbal medicines, food supplements, and household chemicals.

The Surveillance was conducted based on the Authority’s mandate in section 132, subsection 2, 3, and 4 of the Public Health Act 2012 (Act 851).

The Act mandates the FDA to undertake the disposal of unwholesome regulated products such as food, allopathic, herbal, and veterinary medicines, biological products, medical devices, cosmetics, household chemical substances, clinical trials, tobacco and tobacco products, and substances of abuse.

Ms Francisca Obeng, the Regional Head of the Authority, told the Ghana News Agency that the Authority conducted market surveillance operations to rid the market of expired, counterfeit, contaminated, unregistered, and all other kinds of unwholesome regulated products.

The disposal was also intended to prevent the potential re-entry of those unwholesome products into the supply chain.

Going forward, she advised the public to check the expiry dates and registration status of products before they bought them, and ensure they purchased regulated products from accredited and recognised outlets or sources.

She urged retailers to adhere to good storage and stocking practices such as the First Expired, First Out (FEFO) principle while advising citizens to report to the Authority persons who sold expired, unregistered, and unwholesome products.

“The FDA wishes to emphasize that ensuring public health is our prime objective,” it said.

"We are geared towards providing assurance of safe food, drugs, cosmetics, household chemicals, medical devices, and all other regulated products in Ghana,” she said.

Ms Obeng acknowledged the collaboration of the Authority’s stakeholders: the Environmental Protection Agency, Environmental and Sanitation Agency, the Ghana Standards Authority, and the Ghana Police Service to ensure the safety of consumers.

It also mentioned the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority, the Ghana Health Service, and the Pharmacy Council, among others, who complemented the efforts of the FDA to execute its mandate.