The Food and Drugs Authority has arrested two women suspected to be involved in artificially colouring oranges to boost sales.
The FDA says the police conducted a swoop at the Madina market last Tuesday after photos and a video went viral on social media.
In the video, a woman is seen with two big bowls – one a colouring solution and the other full of ripe oranges.
She dipped the oranges in the solution and waits for some minutes for the fruit to turn deep yellow.
It is believed the colour makes the fruit eye-pleasing enough to attract customers.
But FDA says the colouring is “suspicious” and condemned the practice. The officials have, therefore, arrested the women for questioning and possible prosecution.
The FDA faces a huge task of regulating Ghana’s food and drugs market. Only last April, the authority seized over a metric ton of expired goods ahead of the Easter celebrations.
The seized items included antibiotics and analgesics, baby foods such as Aptamil, cerelac, biscuits, energy drinks, lucozade, margarines, dairy products, sanitary pads and many others from pharmacy shops, supermarkets, and filling station marts and from the markets few days to the Easter Holidays.