CONSUMPTION OF UNWHOLESOME FOOD DISTURBING (PAGE 29)

AUTHORITIES of the Food and Drugs Board (FDB) in Tamale have expressed concern over the growing trend in the sale of unwholesome goods in the metropolis.
They have, therefore, advised consumers to always endeavour to check on the manufacture and expiry dates of products before purchasing them.
The Northern Regional Zonal Officer of the FDB, Mr Solomon Agampim, reminded the people that the consumption of unwholesome goods and food items was dangerous to one’s health, and cautioned them to be wary of such items in the system.
The officer told the Daily Graphic in Tamale that the lack of trained personnel to examine food vendors to ensure that they did not have communicable diseases, the use of bare hands to serve food, particularly rice, and the low consumption of iodated salt were some of the disturbing tendencies that needed immediate action to change them.
He said in a recent study conducted on the consumption of iodated salt in the country, Tamale emerged as one of communities with the lowest consumption level. He attributed that to the practice by some dealers in the metropolis to expose the salt to the elements (sun), resulting in the loss of the iodine below the recommended 15 parts per million (ppm) quantity.
Mr Agampim expressed concern over the sale and high patronage of sex-inducing substances in the area, which he described as alarming, and warned that such uncertified aphrodisiacs could cause medical complications for those who used them.
He quoted portions of the FDB Law 1992 which states clearly that, ‘‘any person who sells or offers for sale any food that consists in whole or part of any filthy, putrid, rotten, decomposed or diseased substance’’ contravenes the law and could therefore face sanctions.
The FDB last week confiscated and destroyed large quantities of rotten fish which were being sold to unsuspecting members of the public in Tamale.
Two hundred cartons of the maggot-infested fish were retrieved from a dysfunctional storage facility at the Tamale Cold Store near the General Post Office.