The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) says chicken and other meat products that are imported into the country are taken through internationally-accredited protocols to ensure they are safe for the Ghanaian market.

A statement issued by the CEO on Tuesday, November 8, said there is a mini laboratory at the Tema Port, which is used for testing meat products before their release onto the market.

“In addition, the FDA performs thorough inspection on each consignment that arrives at the ports to ascertain product’s compliance with food safety standards.

“Specifically, each consignment is checked for discolouration and odour, packing integrity,” part of the statement explained.

This follows an earlier claim by the Vice Chair of the AGI-Agriculture Sector, Fatima Alimohamed, that imported frozen chicken and other meat products are preserved for, at least, three years before reaching destination markets in Africa and Ghana.

“This imported meat and chicken were slaughtered years back. They were not killed last month and shipped here the following month. Most have been injected for preservation purposes – including cancer, which is on the rise in Ghana,” she told the Business and Financial Times (B&FT).

The attention of FDA has been drawn to this. It says microbiology tests for the absence of microorganisms such as salmonella and listeria are conducted before such products are released onto the market.

Even so, any consignment found to be unwholesome is subjected to the requisite regulatory procedures, “including safe disposal and sanctioning of the importer.”

“The Authority hereby reassures the public that the health and safety of the citizenry is a priority for the Authority and as such would continue to work assiduously throughout this Christmas season and beyond to ensure that only safe and nutritious foods are sold on our markets.”

“Consumers are also encouraged to immediately bring to the notice of the FDA any observation of an instance of contaminated, spoilt or expired chicken or other meat products that come to their notice,” it directed.