The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has reaffirmed its commitment to protecting the health and safety of Ghanaians amid allegations of expired rice being distributed to Senior High Schools.Director of Legal and Corporate Affairs for the FDA, Joseph Yaw-Bernie Bennie, has assured the public that the regulatory body will not compromise the health and safety of Ghanaians, particularly children and students, under any circumstances.

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This assurance follows claims by the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, who alleged that 22,000 bags of expired and repackaged rice were distributed to various Senior High Schools earlier this year. The distribution was reportedly facilitated through the Free Senior High School Secretariat.

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The North Tongu legislator, who chairs Parliament’s Assurances Committee, alleged that the act was deliberate, calling for the immediate arrest and prosecution of the directors of Lamens Investments Africa, the company accused of repackaging and distributing the expired rice.In an interview on Joy FM’s Midday News on Thursday, November 21, Mr.

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Yaw-Bernie revealed that the FDA became involved after receiving a police complaint about unlicensed rice repackaging. He explained that the Authority worked with law enforcement to halt the unauthorised activity and sanctioned the company for three major violations:Operating an unlicensed facility for rice repackaging.Conducting repackaging without FDA approval.Undertaking the process without proper supervision.Mr.

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Yaw-Bernie noted that the "best before" date on the rice had expired, and the FDA initially recommended disposal of the product. However, subsequent laboratory tests conducted by the FDA, the Centre for Scientific Research (CSIR), and an independent facility in India confirmed the rice met quality standards. As a result, the "best before" date was extended to April 2024 instead of December 2023, as initially requested by the producer.

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“So FDA says that based on this, the date on the rice as was seen on that day shows that the best before date had expired, so what do you do? The first action to take was that we recommended that the product should be simply disposed of – that was the first recommendation made… but again when the producer applied for the censor which is internationally accepted, we looked at the quality of the product and so those three laboratory tests –

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in India, Centre for Scientific Research (CSIR), and Food Research and FDA did a confirmatory test which tells us that the product can be used, and based on that the best before date was extended to April and not December as requested,” he explained.Reiterating the FDA’s unwavering commitment to public health, Mr.

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Yaw-Bernie emphasized:“The FDA, as a regulatory institution, will not for any reason jeopardise the health and safety of Ghanaians, especially children and students. The FDA will shy away from handling unsafe products the way it should be handled.

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”He further assured the public that the FDA strictly enforces its regulations, referencing previous cases where the Authority destroyed unsafe imported rice consignments and addressed food safety issues in schools.“Not too long ago, we dealt with an incident in one of the Northern regions where a school was serving products unfit for human consumption. We acted swiftly to protect public health,” he added.

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The FDA’s intervention underscores its mandate to ensure food safety while maintaining public trust in its processes.

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