The Ashanti Regional chairman of Ghana Association of Farmers and Fisher Folks, Rev Kojo Nkrumah, has expressed worry about the current happenings in the market centers concerning the adulteration of some consumable goods.
He said it is very scary nowadays to even buy from the markets due to the adulteration and inferior nature of some of the food commodities sold at the markets.
He called on the appropriate agencies in the country, including the FDA, to conduct forensic investigation on all consumable goods imported into the country as well as those produced locally.
His comment comes in the wake of the controversial sale of Sudan IV dye laced palm oil on the markets in Accra.
The Food and Drugs Authority on Tuesday, 20th October, 2015 in collaboration with the Narcotics Division of the Ghana Police Service apprehended some dealers suspected to be involved in this practice and confiscated the products, which were also analyzed and found to contain Sudan III and Sudan IV dyes, leading to the arrest of 22 market women and a driver.
He has condemned this attitude of those involved and called for pragmatic measures to deal with the situation in the coming years.
He said if the matter is not properly handled, it could impact negatively on farm produces, and hence called for the need to employ more strategy to boost the oil business in Ghana.
He asked that there should be adequate training for small holders’ farmers since this development could demoralize the spirit of committed farmers and palm oil extraction processing business.
Barely a month ago, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) banned some traditional vegetables into the European market due to alleged unwholesomeness of some of the produce.
