FDA cautions public against buying expired goods ahead of Christmas
The Ghana Food and Drugs Authority is warning the general public to be cautious with the products they buy during the Christmas season to avoid poisoning and other disastrous consequences as a result of consuming fake and expired products.
The Authority raised concerns over the annual offloading of expired products which are often characterized by the Christmas season and gave some tips the public should look out for to spot such products on the market.
It also warned retailers and wholesalers of indulging in the practice of flooding the market with expired and tempered products during this season.
In an interaction with Citi News, the Central Regional Head of the FDA, Francisca Obeng pointed out a few tips to the general public to avoid the consumption of expired and tempered products.
She, especially, warned that “those who will want to do [Christmas] hampers to check the products before they use them for the hampers. Please do well to check the expiry date on the products and avoid buying canned products that are dented, bloated and rusted.”
She added that in order to avoid falling victim to these expired and tempered products, the public should “buy products with clear date markings and avoid products with defaced date markings.”
Altering the expiry dates of products is a crime under Section 113 of The Public Health Act 2012, Act 851, and Section 5 of the P.N.D.C. Law 3058, Food and Drugs Act, 1992, but the phenomenon has been an annual occurrence with few culprits getting arrested.
By: Kabah Atawoge
